AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has been making all sorts of allegations against the Central Government’s demonetisation scheme: He has alleged that some people were already in the know, has outright lied on many issues, and has termed it a big scam.
He had even given a 3-day deadline to the PM to roll it back, after which he had warned that he would be ready for a “kurbaani” (sacrifice) for the country as well:
3 din ke andar isko wapas lo, nahi to desh mein bagawat hogi. Desk ke liye kurbani deni pade, to denge: Arvind kejriwal #Demonetisation
— Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) November 17, 2016
But even as the AAP supremo is going all-out against the scheme, some leaders have now started taking a different line. Probably AAP’s tallest leader in Goa, and even tipped to be the CM candidate at one time, Dr. Oscar Rebello has come out in support of the demonetisation scheme.
Rebello first shot to fame in 2006-2007 as the (former) convener of Goa Bachao Abhiyan opposing the state government’s new Regional Plan (RP). He has ever since been involved in many social causes as an activist.
Goan media reported that in a press conference, Rebello stated clearly that certain things which happened as a result of demonetisation which are good for the country:
- Big blow to counterfeit currency
- Almost entirely choked off terror-funding, which will be hugely beneficial for the country
- Politicians, builders who hoarded huge amounts of cash, they are completely flummoxed as to what to do with their money
He went on to add that even though the above benefits are seen, the implementation of the scheme has been disastrous and that the market lacks liquidity.
This is a marked departure from all out attack on demonetisation by Kejriwal, who has called the entire scheme a sham and a scam with ulterior motives that is not for the good of the country. AAP has usually shown doors to people, including senior leaders like Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, when they have differed from Kejriwal’s views, so it remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against Rebello by the central leadership.
However, any action would be difficult since Rebello is the most popular and most credible face of AAP in Goa, and with the assembly elections coming up, any action against him would seem suicidal. For now, Kejriwal may just have to brazen out this embarrassing development.
