New Delhi, Aug 30: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the central government over demonetisation and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced note ban to finish small and medium-scale businessmen. Calling demonetisation 'nothing less than a scam', Rahul Gandhi said it was not a mistake but a delibrate attempt to rob people's money. The RBI on Wednesday said over 99 per cent of the Rs 15.3 lakh crore taken out of circulation through demonetisation in November 2016 has returned to banks.

"Demonetisation was not a mistake. It was a delibrate attempt to steal money from general public. PM Modi took your money and put it in the pocket of the country's biggest crony capitalists," Rahul Gandhi said in a press conference. "Demonetisation was an attack on common man," the Congress leaded added. He also quoted a report which said a district cooperative bank, which has BJP president Amit Shah as a director, netted the highest deposits during demonetisation period. Narendra Modi Demonetisation Full Speech.

Rahul Gandhi also targetted the Modi government on purchase of Rafale fighter jet and reiterated his demand for JPC probe into the deal. "Rafale is a clear-cut case. Anil Ambani never made aircraft. He is under Rs 45000 crore loan and opened a company just a few days before Rafale deal. HAL has been making aircraft for past 70 years. An aircraft that was for Rs520 crore was bought for Rs 1600 crore, why?" the Congress president asked. "The entire country wants to know what deal was struck between Modi ji and Anil Ambani. Joint Parliamentary Committee should be brought in to clarify," he added.

Rahul Gandhi has been targeting PM Modi over the Rafale deal with France and asking why a 70-year-old defence public sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was ignored for manufacturing the fighter jet. Gandhi has also questioned how the cost of one aircraft, which was Rs 540 crore when the UPA government had signed the deal, rose to thrice its value to Rs 1,600 crore under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 30, 2018 05:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).