Punjab Congress lament over the closure of 50+ ‘demonetized’ industries in Amritsar

Amritsar, December 17
Senior Punjab Congress leader O.P. Saini on Saturday flayed the Modi government for its ill-conceived demonetisation move, which had led to more than 50 industries shutting down their operations and handing over the keys of their factories to the district DC.
These industries were left with no option but to close down after the demonetisation left them without money to sustain operations, with banks not releasing even the minimum funds they are entitled to withdraw post demonetisation, said Saini, adding that people were struggling to meet both ends as a result of the ill-planned move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Soni said several hundred industry representatives held a demonstration, before going to the DC, where the keys of 50 industries were handed over to him as a mark of protest and a sign of their decision to shut down shop as a result of their inability to run business in the backdrop of the severe cash crunch they were facing.
The industries were unable to pay their employees and labourers, most of whom were migrant and had left for their hometowns in the wake of the demonetisation, said Pyara Lal Seth, president of the Punjab Pradesh Vyapar Mandal, adding that even the customers had gone missing following the Modi government’s announcement that led to the withdrawal of 86% of the cash from the market.
“We are unable to meet our essential expenses, including payment of electricity bills, staff salaries etc,” said Seth, adding that the industries were being left with left with no option but to flee.
The demonetisation drive might have helped boost the central government’s revenues but in states like Punjab, with both VAT and stamp duty having come down, the situation was grim, said Seth, demanding to know how Modi planned to compensate the state government its losses.
Terming the entire demonetisation exercise as open loot by the Modi government at the centre and the Badal government in Punjab, Soni pointed out that even though crude oil prices had declined, the cost of petrol and diesel in Punjab had actually gone up. This, he said, clearly showed that the government was too busy plundering the people to think of their welfare.
Picture Caption: Industry Closure: Industrialists handing over keys of their units to Amritsar Deputy Commissioner.