Mumbai, Nov 8 (IANS): Exactly six years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the demonetisation that left the Indian economy crippled, the government has still not been able to justify that "blunder", the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said here on Tuesday.

The Congress also took a swipe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre on the move six years ago, on November 8, 2016, terming it as a "cruel" blow inflicted on the common man of India.

Slamming the move, NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said the country will never forget how the ordinary masses suffered while trying to safeguard their hard-earned money during that abrupt measure spiking Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from circulatioin.

"Its time now.. The PM should inform the nation how much black money was recovereda How demonetisation has ended the terror funding and whether counterfeit (fake) currency has been eliminated from the economy," Tapase demanded.

He pointed out that in contrast to the PM's claims the Reserve Bank of India report had stated that 99.3 percent of the demonetised notes found their way to the banks.

Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe sarcastically asked: "How many years since the country's economy was ruined" and posted a video of showing some BJP leaders purportedly celebrating the demonetisation.

Tapase recalled how leading economists had cautioned the BJP-led government about the ill-effects of the demonetisation move, but nobody in the administration bothered to heed the warnings and even Union Ministers were unaware of it till the PM announced the decision that night.

Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said that demonetisation of the high denomination Rs 500-Rs 1000 currency notes was a cruel move that put brakes on the country's progress and shattered the lives of all Indians.

The NCP leader said that the BJP's ill-conceived policies like demonetisation, coupled with the haphazard implementation of the Good & Services Tax regime "weakened the Indian economy".

"The subsequent two years of the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out all resources of the country, our reserves, hit jobs, the GDP slumped and industries especially MSMEs suffered hugely," said Tapase.