For bad loan mess, PM Modi gives clean chit to himself, pins blame on Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and blamed the previous UPA government for bad loan mess in the country’s banking sector and asserted that every penny given to defaulters will be recovered. Addressing a gathering at the launch of India Post Payments Bank in Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium, Modi said, “Loans were given on phone calls made by ‘namdars’ (dynasts).”

The prime minister gave himself a clean chit for banking mess in the country, saying that “Swift action is being taken against 12 biggest defaulters who were given loans before 2014. I want to assure the country that none of these big loans was given by our government.”

Modi’s party the BJP had also pinned the blame for the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud - India’s biggest banking scam - on the previous Congress government.

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Diamond czar Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi, who, the Congress claims were close to Prime Minister Modi, allegedly defrauded the Punjab National Bank by making fraudulent transactions of over Rs 11,300 crore through 151 letters of understanding.

The Congress had rebutted the allegations citing CBI’s FIR in the case that stated that 148 Letters of Understanding (LoUs) out of total 151 were issued under the Modi government in 2017.

Claiming that all the loans in excess to Rs 50 crore were reviewed properly in the last four years of his government, Modi said, “Since coming to power in 2014, the NDA government has analysed the enormity of the situation and asked banks to strictly recover dues. During the last four years, all loans in excess of Rs 50 crore have been reviewed and ensured that terms are strictly complied with. Every penny of loans given at the behest of ‘namdars’ (dynasts) will be recovered.”

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The prime minister also held the Congress party responsible for the economic mess.

“Just a few days after our government came to power, we realised that the Congress had left the nation’s economy on a landmine. Our government brought out the true picture of NPAs and the scam of the previous government,” he added.