New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday stepped up his campaign on demonetisation seeking a white paper on the issue and placed a charter of demands including lifting of all restrictions on cash withdrawal and compensation to farmers, traders and the poor who have “suffered” due to the note ban.

Addressing a press conference, he also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi double the MNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] wages and the number of days each labourer can work, besides giving 50 per cent rebate in Income Tax and Sales Tax to shopkeepers and 20 per cent bonus on MSP [minimum support price] for Rabi crops to farmers and waiving their loans.

Earlier, presiding over the party’s 132nd Foundation Day celebrations, Gandhi accused Modi of practising politics of “fear and anger” and asked the party men to defeat his ideology.

“On November 8, Modiji said he is performing a ‘yagya’[offering] against corruption and black money. In every yagya, someone’s sacrifice is done and every yagya is done to benefit someone.

“The demonetisation yagya is fore 50 families of the country’s 1 per cent super rich. It is the poor, farmers, labourers, middle class and small shopkeepers who are being sacrificed in this yagya. There has been tremendous pain caused by it,” the Congress Vice President said.

In the “Charter of Demands”, he sought a list of all those who have deposited above Rs2.5 million (Dh134,566) before demonetisation was announced and sought relief to those badly affected including provision of Rs25,000 to at least one woman of each family below the poverty line.

“We want that the Prime Minister should explain some things to the country. After November 8, how much black money has come out and how much economic loss has the country suffered due to demonetisation? How many people lost their lives and whether any compensation has been paid to them?

“The Prime Minister should also tell whom he consulted before taking the decision and spell out the names of experts consulted. The Prime Minister should also provide a list of all those people who have deposited Rs 25 lakh [Rs2.5 million] or more in their accounts before demonetisation,” he told reporters.

As part of the demands, Gandhi said all restrictions on withdrawal of money should be lifted with immediate effect and until the time these restrictions are in place, a special interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum be given to all.

He also sought that all charges on digital transactions should be abolished forthwith, adding that the charter of demands was “on behalf of the people of India”.

Gandhi said the price of ration distributed under the public distribution system should be halved for the period of a year under the provisions of the Food Security Act and a special one-time bonus of 20 per cent should be provided over and above the MSP of all Rabi crops.

“That Rs25,000 should be deposited in the account of at least one woman belonging to each BPL [below the poverty line] family as compensation for the immense suffering caused to women due to demonetisation,” the demands charter said.

Gandhi added an Income Tax and Sales tax rebate of 50 per cent should be given to small shopkeepers and businesses. The central government should compensate state governments for loss of revenue incurred on account of this exemption, he said.

He also demanded that the number of guaranteed work days and the wage rate under MGNREGA should be doubled for a period of one year.

He also demanded that government should organise a special drive to identify and register those who lost their jobs since November 8 and provide them compensation at the applicable minimum wage rate for a period up to March 31.