<p>Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who had implemented a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) to unearth black money during his tenure, today said the present government had carried out demonetisation in a "haphazard" manner causing "unimaginable sufferings" to the people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The JD(S) chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken on demonetisation in Parliament "so that we could reply".<br /><br />"The best thing would have been that the Prime Minister should have made a statement in the House on the very first day of the ongoing Winter session" regarding the decision which he had already announced on November 8 when Parliament was not in session, Gowda told PTI here.<br /><br />"We are not against efforts to curb black money. But in my opinion, the Prime Minister announced demonetisation without any preparation. It was done in a haphazard manner," said the Lok Sabha member who has been waiting to speak on the issue in the House but could not due to its non-functioning.<br /><br />Gowda said 22 days have already passed since the announcement was made by Modi in a nationally-televised address but people, particularly the farmers and the labourers, continue to go through "unimaginable sufferings".<br /><br />Noting that the Prime Minister had asked people to "tolerate" the difficulties for 50 days, he questioned, "How long does this government want the people to suffer?"<br /><br />The senior leader from Karnataka said in his state, banks do not have enough cash and they close down as early as noon, leaving people high and dry.<br /><br />"It was a hasty decision by the Prime Minister without proper assessment which has put the country in an awkward situation," he emphasised.<br /><br />83-year-old Gowda, who was Prime Minister from June 1996 to April 1997, recalled the VDS implemented by him during his tenure which had unearthed Rs 10,000 crore of undisclosed money.</p>
<p>Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, who had implemented a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) to unearth black money during his tenure, today said the present government had carried out demonetisation in a "haphazard" manner causing "unimaginable sufferings" to the people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The JD(S) chief said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken on demonetisation in Parliament "so that we could reply".<br /><br />"The best thing would have been that the Prime Minister should have made a statement in the House on the very first day of the ongoing Winter session" regarding the decision which he had already announced on November 8 when Parliament was not in session, Gowda told PTI here.<br /><br />"We are not against efforts to curb black money. But in my opinion, the Prime Minister announced demonetisation without any preparation. It was done in a haphazard manner," said the Lok Sabha member who has been waiting to speak on the issue in the House but could not due to its non-functioning.<br /><br />Gowda said 22 days have already passed since the announcement was made by Modi in a nationally-televised address but people, particularly the farmers and the labourers, continue to go through "unimaginable sufferings".<br /><br />Noting that the Prime Minister had asked people to "tolerate" the difficulties for 50 days, he questioned, "How long does this government want the people to suffer?"<br /><br />The senior leader from Karnataka said in his state, banks do not have enough cash and they close down as early as noon, leaving people high and dry.<br /><br />"It was a hasty decision by the Prime Minister without proper assessment which has put the country in an awkward situation," he emphasised.<br /><br />83-year-old Gowda, who was Prime Minister from June 1996 to April 1997, recalled the VDS implemented by him during his tenure which had unearthed Rs 10,000 crore of undisclosed money.</p>