Rahul Gandhi attacks Modi over IL&FS issue
New Delhi, Sep 30 : The Congress on Sunday stepped up its attack on the Central government, with party President Rahul Gandhi alleging that public money was being used to bail-out the debt-ridden IL&FS group.
In a tweet, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bailing out the IL&FS group which has a long-term debt liability of around Rs 91,000 crore via public savings in LIC and the State Bank of India (SBI).
The tweet in Hindi titled "Lights, Camera, Scam", alleges that in 2007 when Modi was the Gujarat Chief minister, IL&FS was given the 'GIFT CITY' project worth Rs 70,000 crore. Till date no work has been achieved under the plan.
Gandhi adds that in 2018, Modi was bailing out the same company via LIC and SBI.
Recently, the Congress has raised the issue and warned of "an impending 'Lehman Brothers-type' economic crisis facing the country". The IL&FS crisis has also dented equity investors confidence in the entire NBFC space.
Besides, the party has called for a forensic audit of the group over the disbursement of Rs 42,000 crore in the last four years.
Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari also tweeted on Sunday: "This is why IL&FS financials need to be forensically audited as management, principal shareholders and NDA/BJP government are unwilling to address the 42,000 crore question Peruse second Graphic minutely. Rs 42,000 crore was disbursed in past four years. Nobody knows where the money disappeared."
The call for an audit comes at a time, when concerns have been raised regarding the financial stability of the group after some of its subsidiaries defaulted on commercial paper repayment obligations.
In addition, the party has said that public savings via LIC and SBI should not be used to bailout the private entity in which foreign institutions have a stake.
On Saturday, the cash-strapped company said it was planning to have a "successful" rights issue and would sell its assets to repay creditors.
The company in its Annual General Meeting sought shareholders' permission to carry out its plans to recapitalise itself.
In a video shared by the company after the AGM, IL&FS MD Hari Sankaran said that the company addressed the concerns of shareholders to restore normalcy in its operations and proposed a three-point strategy.
"Number one, to have a successful rights issue which will generate and enable the company to recapitalise itself," he said, adding that the company also proposes to sell assets in order to repay its creditors.
The third element of the strategy is "to get liquid allocation to support repayments of debtors till our assets sale begins", he said.
IL&FS Financial Services, a group company, defaulted in payment obligations of bank loans (including interest), term and short-term deposits and failed to meet the commercial paper (CP) redemption obligations due on September 14.
On September 15, the company reported that it had received notices for delays and defaults in servicing some of the inter corporate deposits accepted by it.
Consequent to defaults, rating agency ICRA downgraded the ratings of its short-term and long-term borrowing programmes.
IL&FS Ltd is a core investment company and serves as the holding company of the IL&FS Group, with most business operations domiciled in separate companies which form an ecosystem of expertise across infrastructure, finance and social and environmental services.
Initially promoted by the Central Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd and the Unit Trust of India, IL&FS was incorporated in 1987.
Over the years, it has inducted institutional shareholders including SBI, LIC, ORIX Corporation of Japan and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).
As on March 31, 2018, LIC and ORIX Corporation are the largest shareholders in IL&FS with their stakeholding at 25.34 per cent and 23.54 per cent, respectively. Other prominent shareholders include ADIA (12.56 per cent), HDFC (9.02 per cent), CBI (7.67 per cent) and SBI (6.42 per cent).
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
