The Delhi Police on Thursday detained a group of activists from the All India Democratic Women’s Association during their protest against the Reserve Bank of India outside its office in the city, The Hindu reported. The group was protesting against the central bank’s refusal to exchange demonetised notes at its offices, a provision mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his November 8 announcement.
The protestors were detained ten minutes into their demonstration and were taken to the Parliament Street police station, according to the report. A senior police officer said they had later been released. In a Facebook post, Aidwa claimed that its members were “forcefully removed” from the entrance to the RBI office by police.
“People have been queuing up at different Reserve Bank of India offices, only to face refusal from the apex bank,” Aidwa said. The group demanded that the central bank continue to exchange old notes till March 31 and that it “ensure [the] regular supply of legal currency in ATMs”.
The protest took place one day after citizens demonstrated outside the RBI’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai after the apex bank’s staff refused to exchange demonetised notes. A woman customer reportedly took off her clothes at the bank in protest against their move. The bank said that the specific provision allowing the exchange of old notes up till March 31 was only applicable to Non-Resident Indians.
In his November 8 address, Modi had said, “There may be some who are not able to deposittheir old Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 notes by December 30, 2016. They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to March 31, 2017, and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form.”
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