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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Kejriwal responds to EC, says water received from Haryana 'extremely poisonous' for human health
New Delhi (PTI): AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission notice over his claim the Haryana government was "mixing poison" in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health.
In the 14-page reply to the Election Commission, the former Delhi chief minister said if such "toxic water" is allowed to be consumed by human population it would lead to grave health hazard and fatality.
Kejriwal said he only wanted to highlight the "urgent public health crisis" due to the quality of drinking water in the city, and he violated no law or Model Code of Conduct, hence the issue should be closed.
He said the "alleged statements" attributed to him were made as it was his public duty to red flag the "severe toxicity and contamination" of raw water received from the BJP-ruled state.
Following a complaint filed by the BJP over the matter, the Election Commission issued the notice to Kejriwal on Tuesday, giving him time till Wednesday 8 pm to furnish his reply.
Kejriwal also said the ammonia level in raw water received from Haryana was so "extreme" that water treatment plants in Delhi are unable to process and bring it down to safe and permissible limits for human consumption.
Following their party chief's response, the AAP issued a statement, saying, "It is an undisputed fact that there is 7 ppm ammonia in Yamuna water, A Delhi Jal Board CEO letter admits toxicity is 700 percent higher than the permissible limit."
In his response to the EC, Kejriwal also alleged that Haryana's "failure" in controlling pollution in Yamuna has resulted in an "unprecedented public health crisis" in Delhi. He alleged "indiscriminate" discharge of industrial waste in the river by the state.
The AAP supremo said Haryana is an upper-riparian state and Delhi, ruled by his party, has no role to play in the high level of toxic water being made available to the city.
"Due to such high level of toxic content in the raw water supplied by Haryana, the water treatment plants in Delhi are operating below capacity and there is a shortage of treated water in Delhi," he claimed.
Saying that access to clean water is a basic human right, the AAP chief asserted that raising this critical issue cannot be considered an offence.
"The said statement by no stretch of the imagination can be termed inciting enmity between different groups or prejudicial to national integration," he said.
On the contrary, the substance and purpose of these statements are rooted solely in the public interest, aimed at highlighting a legitimate civic concern that requires urgent institutional intervention, he asserted.
He requested the EC to intervene in the matter and issue appropriate directions to Haryana so safe water is made available to the people of Delhi.
