The Shiv Sena has written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asking him to stop treating every citizen like a "criminal" in the wake of the demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai, while lauding the government's intent on cracking down on black money, expressed concern over the manner in which each and every Indian was being viewed as a criminal.
"We are worried about the way each citizen has been viewed as a criminal by the government. The sudden declaration of the currency notes as illegal has rendered millions of people and households in chaos," Raut and Desai said in a letter to Jaitley released late on Saturday night.
The two urged the government not to "criminalise the citizens" and add to the woes of the commoners as they have had enough and said the government should have given the masses enough time and taken them into confidence since this was a democracy.
In view of the sufferings of the people, they sought extension of the time limit of the use of these cancelled currency notes for paying all types of utility bills and also healthcare, transport, at cremation/burial grounds, petrol stations and grocery stores till December 30.
"We hope the government will be sensitive to the woes of the people and not view them in the same lens as those who have black money in Swiss Bank accounts," said Raut, the Sena group leader, and Desai.
Two days ago, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray denounced the manner in which the people were being harassed and said demonetization would prove disastrous for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections.