Congress slams Modi regime over Rs 70,000 cr bank scams, IDBI sale
New Delhi, June 25: Congress on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government for leading India into "financial anarchy" with its "utter economic mismanagement" that has led to bank scams over Rs 70,000 crore, and now forcing LIC to buy the sinking IDBI Bank to "hide its failures".
"Post the numerous bank loot scams that have plunged the banking sector in deep crises, one more mega scam worth Rs 6,978 crore has been uncovered taking the total value of 13 bank loot scams to Rs 70,014 crore," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
He alleged that the Faridabad-based SRS Group, a diversified company, engaged in criminal conspiracy, cheating and frauds of Rs 6,978.72 crore reportedly using hundreds of shell companies defrauding 17 banks. It also laundered money and duped thousands of home buyers.
Citing Indian banks' Q4 losses for 2017-18 that touched an "astronomical" Rs 90,000 crore, Surjewala said Modi government's financial anarchy continues unabated as the NPAs which were Rs 2,63,000 crore in fiscal 2013-14 is now hovering around Rs 10,30,000 crore.
IDBI Bank is the worst performing public sector bank whose Q4 losses have swollen to Rs 5,663 crore and gross NPA has risen to a whopping Rs 55,588.26 crore, he said and added the bank has a bad loan ratio of close to 28 per cent.
"Utter economic mismanagement of Modi government and its Finance Ministry is writ large. To cover up its mess, it is now jeopardizing the hard-earned money of 38 crore LIC policy holders by forcing it to purchase the rapidly sinking IDBI Bank.
"It's a classic case of selling family silver of 38 crore LIC policy holders to hide the economic mayhem of failed 'Modinomics-Jaitleynomics'," he said.
Surjewala said the the Prime Minister's Office, Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Vigilance Commission, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Serious Fraud Investigation office, the Enforcement Directorate, the Corporate Affairs Ministry/the Registrar of Companies and the BJP government in Haryana are completely silent even after a series of complaints filed against the SRS Group as early as August 2017.
Thousands of people have been duped in the name of public deposits received by SRS Ltd, one of the SRS Group companies, he said, claiming that repayments of about Rs 90 crore have been denied despite various order from National Company Law Tribunal.
Surjewala said thousands of people have also been duped in the name of booking flats, homes, plots, floors and other deposits, with as much as 80 per cent advance as payments, but no delivery of the said land or flat allotments was done to the investors in these projects.
"In one of the glaring examples, the bank has served notices to 1,200 flat owners in SRS Royal Hills, Sector 87, Faridabad to vacate the flats to recover the loan," he said, adding that the residents had been staying for years without even a registry.
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Domestic LPG price hiked by Rs 60 per cylinder to Rs 913
New Delhi (PTI): Domestic cooking gas LPG price on Saturday was hiked by a steep Rs 60 per cylinder, the second increase in rate in less than a year, as oil companies pass on a part of the spike in global energy rates that followed the West Asia crisis.
Non-subsidised LPG - the one that common households use in kitchens - will now cost Rs 913 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi as against Rs 853 previously, according to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) website.
Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries - the over 10 crore poor who have got free LPG connection since 2016 - will also have to bear the same amount of price increase. They will now pay Rs 613 per 14.2 kg cylinder after accounting for a subsidy of Rs 300 per bottle they get for up to 12 refills in a year.
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The price increase, the website showed, is effective from March 7.
This is the second increase in rate in 11 months. The price was last hiked by Rs 50 in April last year.
Alongside, the price of commercial LPG - the one used by establishments such as hotels and restaurants - was increased by Rs 114.5 per 19-kg cylinder. It now costs Rs 1,883 in Delhi. This increase comes on top of Rs 28 per 19-kg cylinder raise effected on March 1.
Commercial LPG rate has risen by Rs 302.50 this year.
Industry officials said the increase follows a steep rise in global energy prices since the US and Israel attack on Iran last weekend triggered a wider military conflict in the oil and gas-rich Middle East.
The conflict has led to a near halt in tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz -the narrow but critical sea lane between Iran and Oman used by Middle Eastern producers to export oil and gas to global markets. The disruption has sharply curtailed energy shipments from the region, triggering a spike in global oil and gas prices.
Since the conflict broke out on February 28, US crude soared 35.63 per cent for the biggest weekly gain in the history of the futures contract dating back to 1983. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures closed at USD 90.90 per barrel. Brent jumped about 28 per cent for its biggest weekly gain since April 2020, to settle at USD 92.69 per barrel.
Asian spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also jumped to around USD 25.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) - a three-year high and more than double of last week's levels of around USD 10 per mmBtu amid fears of supply disruptions and halted exports from Qatar.
LPG markets have also tightened as shipments from key Gulf exporters face logistical disruptions, pushing international propane and butane benchmarks higher and raising concerns over supply availability for major importers such as India.
Despite Saturday's price increase, cooking gas in India is priced at the lowest when compared with neighbouring countries, industry officials said.
In Mumbai, non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 912.50, Rs 939 in Kolkata and Rs 928.50 in Chennai, according to the IOC website.
Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
The Strait of Hormuz is also a critical conduit for India's energy imports, with roughly half of the crude oil the country buys from overseas transiting through the narrow waterway. In addition, nearly 40 per cent of India's natural gas imports, largely in the form of LNG from Gulf suppliers like Qatar and the UAE, also pass through the strait.
For LPG, the strait is more important. India consumed 31.3 million tonne of LPG in 2024-25, of which only 12.8 million tonne were produced domestically, with the remainder imported. Of the imported quantity, 85-90 per cent come from countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on the Strait of Hormuz for transit.
The Strait has been effectively blocked following a week-old escalation in the region, after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to retaliate against US bases in neighbouring countries.
To augment domestic supplies, the government on Friday invoked sparingly used emergency powers to direct oil refineries to ramp up LPG production.
