New Delhi, June 22 : The Congress on Friday alleged that the demonetisation carried out by the Narendra Modi government was the "biggest scam in Independent India" to convert black money into white and the maximum deposits in cooperative banks in just five days were in BJP-ruled states, mainly Gujarat.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that RTI queries had revealed that Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank,whose directors include BJP chief Amit Shah, received the highest amount of old demonetised notes of Rs 745.58 crore in just five days.
"Nineteen months post 'Modi made disaster' of demonetisation, it is now officially clear that this entire exercise was the biggest scam in independent India, indulged to convert its ill-gotten 'black money' into 'white'," Surjewala said.
He said a comprehensive probe into demonetisation has become the need of the hour as one of the aspects of the revelations from an RTI query showed the maximum deposits in district cooperative banks that were controlled by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including its President Amit Shah.
IANS had done a story on Thursday based on a RTI reply which said that a bank with Amit Shah as a director collected the highest amount of banned notes among DCCBs (District Central Cooperative Banks).
Surjewala said both Modi and Shah need to come clean on the fact that in 11 district co-operative banks in Gujarat headed by BJP leaders, old notes worth Rs 3,118.51 crore were deposited within the five days during which it was allowed.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also hit out at Shah in a tweet.
"Congratulations Amit Shahji, Director, Ahmedabad Dist. Cooperative Bank, on your bank winning first prize in the conversion of old notes to new race. Rs 750 crore in five days! Millions of Indians whose lives were destroyed by demonetisation, salute your achievement. #ShahZyadaKhaGaya."
अमित शाह के अहमदाबाद कोऑपरेटिव बैंक के लिए 'नोटबंदी' बना 'नोटबदली'!
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) June 22, 2018
Old notes worth ₹3118.51Cr deposited in 5 days of DeMo in BJP controlled 11 District Co-op Banks in Guj!
₹14293.71Cr deposited in Co-op banks in BJP+ ruled states!
Will it get investigated? #ShahZyadaKhaGaya pic.twitter.com/OBF4P5wgKV
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Dhaka (AP/PTI): A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday told investigators they have one month to complete their work on ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides who face charges of crimes against humanity after hundreds of people were killed in a mass uprising this summer.
Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the head judge of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, set Dec 17 for investigators to finish their work, as the tribunal heard updates Monday from police about what the country's security agencies have done to arrest Hasina and her close aides.
The decision came after prosecutors sought more time for the investigation.
Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests. The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal on Oct. 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others including former Cabinet ministers, advisors and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.
At least 13 people, including a former law minister and a businessman who was Hasina's private-sector advisor, appeared before the tribunal on Monday, said B M Sultan Mahmud, a prosecutor at the tribunal.
One former Cabinet minister was not brought to the tribunal as he was in custody for police interrogation in a separate case. Another six people will appear on Wednesday, tribunal officials said. At least 20 suspects have been arrested in the case.
The tribunal will also seek updates from police on their progress in arresting the other suspects, including Hasina.
The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has already sought help from Interpol through the country's police chief to arrest Hasina. On Sunday, Yunus said in an address to the nation that his administration would seek Hasina's extradition from India.
Authorities say hundreds of people were killed during the uprising in July and August mainly by security agents seeking to quell the initial protests over government jobs. The violence intensified as the protests morphed into an anti-government movement with more bloodshed, ending Hasina's 15-year rule. Hasina had also earlier sought an investigation into the killings.