நாட்டு மக்களை சந்தேகிக்கும் போக்கை கைவிட்டு ’அழியாத மை வைப்போம்’ என்ற அறிவிப்பை மத்திய அரசு திரும்ப பெற வேண்டும் #IndelibleInk https://t.co/TKc9aiCnU0

DMK leader M.K. Stalin demanded on November 15, 2016, that the Union government immediately withdraw its controversial directive ordering commercial banks to mark customers with indelible ink when exchanging demonetised currency notes.

Stalin described the measure as deeply insulting and authoritarian, arguing that treating citizens queuing to withdraw their own hard-earned money as potential criminals or fraudulent actors violated basic civic dignity, personal honor, and public respect. He emphasized that the overwhelming majority of people standing in long queues were daily-wage earners, laborers, domestic workers, and small vendors who possessed no black money but merely needed legitimate legal tender to buy daily food supplies. Applying election-style ink on bank patrons reflected profound bureaucratic confusion and a total disconnect from grassroots realities.

The opposition leader pointed out that by-elections were actively underway in several constituencies, including Thanjavur, Aravakurichi, and Thiruparankundram, where ink marking at banks risked disenfranchising bona fide voters on polling day. Stalin urged the Union government to immediately abandon its paranoid and punitive approach, focus administrative efforts on streamlining cash supplies, and treat ordinary Indian citizens with basic respect, fairness, and constitutional decency.