Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the government over public sector banks collecting crores in penalty from customers for not maintaining average monthly balance, saying the "penalty system" is that door of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "chakravyuh" through which efforts are being made to break the back of the common Indian.

His attack on the government came after it emerged in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that public sector banks collected around Rs 8,500 crore under this head in five years starting from FY 2019-20.

Minister of state in the finance ministry Pankaj Chaudhary also informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that state-run banks have charged depositors Rs 2,331 crore penalty for not maintaining average monthly minimum balance in FY24.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "During Narendra Modi's amrit kaal, the 'empty pockets' of common Indians are also being robbed. The government, which had forgiven Rs 16 lakh crore of friendly industrialists, has recovered Rs 8,500 crore from the poor Indians who were unable to maintain even 'minimum balance'." "The 'penalty system' is that door of Modi's 'chakravyuh' through which efforts are being made to break the back of the common Indian," Gandhi said "But remember the people of India are not Abhimanyu but Arjun, they know how to answer your atrocities by breaking the 'chakravyuh'," the former Congress chief said.

Using the 'chakravyuh' metaphor as a leitmotif, Gandhi on Monday had claimed that an atmosphere of fear prevails all around with a group of six trapping the entire country in a 'chakravyuh' he promised would be broken by the INDIA bloc.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on Budget 2024-25, Gandhi had said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will ensure that a legal guarantee for MSP as well as a caste census is passed by the House.

Thousands of years ago in Haryana's Kurukshetra, six people killed a youth, Abhimanyu, in a 'chakravyuh', he had said, adding that a 'chakravyuh' has violence and fear.

Gandhi's reference was to the Mahabharat legend according to which Abhimanyu was killed in a 'chakravyuh'. 'Chakravyuh' refers to a multi-layered military formation aimed at trapping a warrior by opponents placed strategically in an alignment resembling a lotus-shaped labyrinth.

He said the 'chakravyuh' is also called a 'padmavyuh' for its resemblance to a lotus (BJP's election symbol) formation.

"In the 21st century, another 'chakravyuh' has been prepared. It is in the form of lotus and the prime minister (Narendra Modi) wears the symbol on his chest. What was done with Abhinmanyu is being done with India, with its youth, women, farmers and small and medium businesses," he had said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.