PNB fraud case: Rahul Gandhi asks Prime Minister to speak up
New Delhi: The opposition asked the Prime Minister to speak up in 11,300-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case involving diamond trader Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
In a tweet, Rahul demanded the Prime Minister to end his silence in the high-profile case. He also took a swipe at Arun Jaitley, saying the Union finance minister was nowhere to be seen.
"PM Modi tells kids how to pass exams for 2 hrs, but won't speak for two mins on the 22,000Cr banking scam. Mr. Jaitley is in hiding. Stop behaving as if you're guilty! Speak up (sic)," the Congress chief tweeted, alluding to the PM's interaction with students at the ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme on February 16.
Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoT) from the state-owned bank to secure overseas credit from other lenders. The Enforcement Directorate has seized diamonds, gold jewelry and other precious stones worth `5,674 crore till now.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that the "full truth" must come out. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. This big banking fraud was fuelled at the time of #DeMonetisation. Big money laundering happened during DeMo. Key bank officials were changed. Who are these people put in? There are more banks involved. The full truth must come out (sic)," she tweeted.
CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury also took potshots at the NDA government. "Poor farmers forced to commit suicide, while rich businessmen friends are invited to PM's residence and Davos so that they can scoot with public money," he tweeted.
In Bhopal, rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav demanded the NDA government's resignation for failing to protect the money of ordinary depositors. "A government is the most powerful entity after god. If it cannot protect public money, who else will? They (the NDA government should immediately resign," he said.
Earlier in the day, the Congress party demanded the government bring out a white paper on the banking system, which it said suffered scams involving over `61,000 crore in the last five years.
"Bank frauds are tumbling out of the closet faster than you can say, Jack Robinson," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, adding Vikram Kothari — the owner of Rotomac pens who owes `800 crore to banks — was now untraceable.
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Dy CM Shivakumar confident of Congress win in Karnataka bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday expressed confidence that the ruling Congress will secure a decisive victory in the Assembly bypolls scheduled for April 9 in the Bagalkote and Davanagere South constituencies, citing a favourable ground response to the party’s guarantee schemes.
These are ‘Shakti’, ‘Gruha Lakshmi’, ‘Gruha Jyoti’, ‘Yuva Nidhi’ and ‘Anna Bhagya’.
The bypolls were necessitated by the demise of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, who represented Davanagere South and Bagalkote constituencies, respectively.
The Congress has fielded Shivashankarappa’s grandson, Samarth Shamanur, in Davanagere South and Umesh Meti in Bagalkote. They are locked in direct contests with BJP candidates T Dasakariyappa and Veerabhadrayya Charantimath.
“Both Bagalkote and Davanagere are very positive. Congress workers are doing an excellent job, going door to door and convincing people about the guarantee schemes,” Shivakumar told reporters here.
He said even voters who had earlier supported the BJP were now inclined towards the Congress.
“Even those who voted for the BJP earlier are saying they will vote for Congress. People want the guarantees to continue and are expressing difficulties due to rising prices,” he said.
Expressing confidence of an improved electoral performance, he added, “There is a strong sense that we will win with a bigger margin than before.”
Shivakumar also said he would travel to Kerala for two days and resume campaigning thereafter. “I am going to Kerala for two days. After returning, we will continue the campaign from Davanagere,” he said.
Referring to the shortage of LPG, including auto LPG, in the state, Shivakumar blamed the BJP-led government and called for immediate intervention by the Centre.
“The LPG shortage is due to the BJP. Auto drivers and those in the transport sector are facing difficulties,” he claimed.
“This is something the central government has to address. It must formulate proper policies and take precautionary measures,” he said, adding that the BJP should apologise to the public.
“They should come forward and apologise to the people for the inconvenience caused and resolve the issues they have created,” he said.
