Rahul’s banking claims baseless; INC used public banks as ATMs: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman weighed in heavily on opposition leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations about public sector banks, saying his comments are “baseless.”

In a post on X on Wednesday, Sitharaman said that under the Congress-led UPA regime, public sector banks were forced to give loans to cronies. The Indian banking sector witnessed a remarkable turnaround during the Modi regime, she added.

Earlier in the day yesterday, Gandhi, after meeting some bank associations, said the government is using the banks as an unlimited source of funds for their “fraudulent friends.”

“Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s penchant for making baseless statements is on full display, yet again. India’s banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), has seen a remarkable turnaround under PM Narendra Modi. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that the high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration, in the health of PSBs? Under the Congress, PSBs were treated as ATMs for their cronies and shady businessmen,” Sitharaman said in the post.

“It was actually during the UPA regime when bank employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through “phone banking” by the then Congress-led UPA government functionaries. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that asset quality review was launched by our government in 2015, unearthing the “phone banking” practices of UPA Govt?” the post added. 

Sitharaman also pointed to the efforts taken by the Modi government to revive the country's banking sector. “Modi Government initiated the ‘4Rs’ strategy and other reforms in the banking sector. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that in the last 10 years, the PSBs were supported through recapitalisation of ₹3.26 lakh crore? The Public also has a shareholding in the PSBs, and dividends are the source of income for such investors also. Not just for the GoI,” Sitharaman said in the post.

“Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that during the UPA rule these PSBs paid dividends of ₹56,534 crore? Citizen-centric governance and inclusive development are the core principles of the Modi Government. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that 54 crore Jan Dhan accounts and more than 52 crore collateral-free loans under various flagship financial inclusion schemes (PM MUDRA, Stand-Up India, PM-SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma) have been sanctioned?” she said. 

“Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that under the PM MUDRA scheme, 68% of beneficiaries are women and under the PM-SVANidhi scheme, 44% of beneficiaries are women? This is a testament to the Modi Government’s philosophy of ‘Antyodyay’. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that loans up to ₹10 lakh have increased by 238% in the last 10 years, and their share in total loans has also increased from 19% to 23%? Similarly, didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that loans up to ₹50 lakh have also increased by 300%, increasing their share from 28% to 42% in the last 10 years?” she added.