The Congress on Wednesday asked the Narendra Modi government to place in the public domain all facts related to loans and non-performing assets (NPAs) from the pre-UPA years before 2004 and from 2004 to 2020 for the people to judge instead of “misleading” the nation and making unsubstantiated allegations about previous governments.
Former finance minister P. Chidambaram said while speaking to journalists on video: “We have repeatedly asked the government to place all records in the public domain. I have asked for this in Parliament but the government will hide information and throw accusations on us. They say all the loans were advanced during the UPA time. We are stupid but not that stupid (to accept the false arguments of the government).
“Let the government make public the details of loans given prior to 2004 (when the NDA was in power), between 2004 and 2014 (when the UPA ran the government) and after 2014 (when Modi came to power). Let the government specify which loan turned into an NPA. We don’t get these facts. Is it ironical or surprising that the finance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) who was not heard for all these days when the nation is grappling with an extraordinary crisis sprang to the defence of fugitives?”
After it emerged in an RTI reply by the Reserve Bank of India that the Modi government had written off bank defaults of Rs 68,607 crore and the Congress linked it to the pandemic-triggered austerity measures, Sitharaman tweeted on Tuesday night accusing the Opposition party of “misleading” people and “sensationalising facts by taking them out of context”.
Ripping into the arguments of the finance minister about writing off loans, the Congress wondered if the benefits of NPA laws should also be provided to fugitives.
Chidambaram said: “The government is referring to the technicalities of law. Assuming there is a rule, but why apply that to those who have fled the country? Why give benefit to Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and other absconders who have been declared fugitives?”
Sitharaman had argued that the RBI takes its decisions on NPAs after a four-year provisioning cycle. She had also alleged that NPAs were rooted in the UPA period. Chidambaram countered: “We are not saying there is no rule but we are asking why apply that rule to the fugitives instead of defaulters and willful defaulters who are facing legal consequences in India.”
Asked about information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar’s taunt that Rahul Gandhi should take tuition from Chidambaram on financial matters, the UPA-era finance minister said: “I am now taking tuition from the finance minister and the I&B minister. The question is not about technicality but about the decision to help fugitives. Also, why did the finance minister refuse to divulge the names of the top 50 defaulters when Rahul Gandhi asked about it in the Lok Sabha if they have nothing to hide?”
Congress communications chief Randeep Surjewala also broached the issue in a series of tweets: “Simple answer that finance minister Sitharaman needs to give instead of twisting facts: 1. Why has Modi Government written off loans worth Rs 6,66,000 crore between 2014-15 & 2019-20? 2. Is RBI’s reply to RTI query dated April 24, 2020 of loans write-off of Rs 68,607 crore wrong or right? 3. Why is Modi Government writing off bank loans of absconders & fraudsters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi (Rs 8,048 CR), Jatin Mehta (Rs 6,038 CR), Vijay Mallya (Rs 1,943 CR) & others? 4. Who permitted such huge write-offs of loans of defaulters & why?”
Surjewala added: “And Sitharaman ji, cleaning the banks of people’s money by writing off loans of absconders & fraudsters is not called ‘cleaning the system’. It’s called weakening the entire bank architecture fiscally & imprudently, if not maliciously.”
Questioning the finance minister’s claims, Surjewala said: “To mislead or mistate facts while holding the august office of Finance Minister is most unfair. You tweeted that Rs 2,780.50 crore have been recovered from Modi-Choksi-Mallya. On March 16, 2020, Parliament was told that Enforcement Directorate has recovered only Rs 96.93 crore in five years under PMLA-FEMA!”