Chandigarh, January 1, 2016: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the eve of New Year on Saturday has left crores of people disappointed with Modi failing to apologise over the pain they were suffering since the past 50 days and resorting to mere rhetoric. Reacting to Modi's speech, in a statement issued here on Sunday, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Vice President Sunil Jakhar said that PM's speech clearly indicate that the problems of the common people will continue this year as well. "People were expecting that PM will give the nation information about the black money that has come after demonetisation and would distribute those funds in the bank account of the poor," he said, adding that they were left disappointed. Pointing out that during the UPA regime, an interest of 10 per cent was given to senior citizens on their fixed deposits for period of two years, Jakhar said Modi's announcement of 8 per cent interest on their fixed deposits of the past 10 years was a cruel joke with the elderly, who are struggling in queues to withdraw a mere amount of Rs 2000 to Rs 4000 from the banks since the past 50 days.
Referring to the problems faced by farmers, Jakhar said they had been hoping for debt waiver, or at least a 2-year relaxation but Modi had instead come out with lower interest rates on further loans. Encouraging farmers to take further loans would prove detrimental for them, he added. Jakhar said the restrictions imposed on the co-operative banks in the name of demonetisation was a set back to the cooperative movement. He further noted that in the absence of any relief to the industry, badly affected by demonetisation, unemployment would increase.