First anniversary of demonetisation: DMK to observe November 8 as 'Black Day'

In a statement, DMK Working President MK Stalin said party workers, wearing black shirts, would observe November 8 as "Karuppu Dhinam" (Black Day) and stage protests.

He invited the public "affected by the note ban" to join the agitations by sporting black arm bands.

Stalin's statement is in line with the Congress' announcement in Delhi that it would observe November 8 as 'Black Day'.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Eighteen political parties have decided to hold protests in every state in their capacity against the government's decision which caused hardship to the people."

A group of 18 opposition parties has been standing together against the government and formed the seven-member coordination committee comprising leaders of the Congress, TMC, SP, BSP, DMK, the Left and the breakaway JD-U faction.

The coordination committee of opposition parties had met yesterday in the Parliament House, where it authorised Azad to talk to other parties and finalise the protest plan on November 8.

Stalin said, "This unilateral decision (of demonetisation) by the BJP government has affected the unorganised sector, daily-wage labourers and farm workers, besides hurting MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)."

"The country's economy is sluggish today," he alleged.

The DMK leader said former prime minister Manmohan Singh had warned of the ill-effects of the note ban and many political leaders had also expressed concerns about it then.

He claimed that people stood in ATMs for long hours and wasted their precious time while those without debit cards, such as villagers, were further affected.

The BJP government had not come forward to condole in Parliament deaths which occurred in queues in banks and ATMs, Stalin alleged.

Taking a dig at the BJP, the DMK leader also alleged the party had not implemented its pre-poll promises such as "depositing Rs 15 lakh in each Indian's bank account" and ensuring economic growth.