AIADMK, DMK join hands with opposition against demonetisation

CHENNAI: It was a rare sight on Wednesday to see AIADMK MPs rubbing shoulders with their DMK counterparts outside Parliament near the famous Gandhi statue, protesting against Reserve Bank of India’s note ban, which has been rocking the Houses since day one of winter session.
AIADMK’s Rajya Sabha floor leader A Navaneethakrishnan stood alongside Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and DMK MP Trichy Siva, in what is seen as an effort to bolster the stand of the opposition, including Congress, SP, BSP, TMC and Left against the Modi government’s decision to make Rs 1,000/500 notes invalid in its fight against corruption.
“We took part in the dharna as we got instructions from the party high command to do so,” said an AIADMK leader, seeking anonymity. They held up placards and raised slogans in chaste Tamil to “save people and farmers.”
DMK members were, however, taken by surprise by the presence of their arch rivals, as the ruling AIADMK was not part of the all-party meeting convened by Congress on Monday that decided to hold the dharna outside Parliament.
While AIADMK ‘confined’ itself to raising concerns about the rural economy, DMK MPs stood with the opposition, demanding that PM Modi participate in the debate and listen to concerns of parties. They sought a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into “selective leakage” of the demonetisation decision even before Modi’s November 8 announcement.
“We are facing financial emergency, but the PM prefers to shun Parliament and make comments outside,” Trichy Siva said. DMK will hold human chain protest on Thursday at district headquarters against demonetization and the “state’s indifference to plight of people”.