Rahul travelling as Cong launches protest against notes ban

New Delhi

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that he will be travelling for the next few days, apparently taking a break for New Year, even as his party announced a month-long protest to expose the "biggest scam" of demonetisation.

"I will be travelling for the next few days. Happy New Year to everyone, wishing you and your loved ones success & happiness in this coming year," Gandhi tweeted. He did not mention where he was travelling to. But last year too, Gandhi had taken a nearly two-month-long break and was criticised for his absence as several Congress leaders were unaware of his whereabouts.

Gandhi's absence for the "next few days" come at a time when Congress has announced to launch a month-long protest to expose the "government's biggest scam" of demonetisation. The party has claimed the sudden decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and old Rs 500 currency notes on November 8 has brought miseries to people and damaged the Indian economy.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the first phase of the protests has begun, and on January 2-3 all state Congress leaders would go to their district headquarters and "expose the real face of demonetisation". He alleged that demonetisation had given birth to "new black markets".

Earlier on Saturday, Gandhi had put forth a charter of demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to lift the restrictions on cash withdrawals immediately and pay Rs 25,000 to every Below Poverty Level family. In one of his tweets, Gandhi said: "Destroyed in the last 50 days: trust in the Prime Minister's word. Weekly cash withdrawal limits must go".

The Congress vice president is a staunch critic of the government's decision to demonetise the high-value notes. He has dubbed the move, the single most arbitrary decision in the history of the world affecting 1.3 billion people.