PM Narendra Modi put people’s money in banks, friends stealing it: Rahul Gandhi

Leaders of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge have been assigned the task of speaking to all parties and arrive at a strategy either of demand of a JPC, or what will be decided jointly by opposition parties…” “We will talk to others before taking a decision,” a senior leader told The Indian Express.

Rahul asked the PM to tell the country what action he will take in the Nirav Modi case, as also to ensure safety of the banking system, instead of “spending an hour and a half explaining to little kids how to take exams”. The Congress president claimed that said the scam is worth Rs 22,000 crore.

He also rejected the BJP charge that he had attended the launch of a bridal jewellery exhibition of Nirav Modi in 2013, saying “they are trying to divert. There is nothing like that.” Speaking to reporters at AICC headquarters, Rahul rejected the BJP charge that the alleged fraud dates back to the UPA period, and had started in 2011.

“It started in May 2015. The first complaint was in May 2015 and the bulk, 90 per cent of the transactions, are under this government. This government constantly refuses to accept responsibility. The Prime Minister looks at the wicketkeeper and then plays cricket. The fact is, the Prime Minister has through his actions destroyed the financial system of this country.”

Rahul claimed that Modi took “money from people’s pockets and put it into the banking sector” through the demonetisation move. “Now his friends and cronies are stealing it from the banking sector and the PM is not saying anything. So I would like to request the Prime Minister to come out and, instead of spending an hour and a half explaining to little kids how to take exams, explain to the people of India what is going to be done to this Mr Nirav Modi, and what he is going to do to make sure the banking system is safe.”

He said the PM had in a way taken responsibility for protecting the money that was deposited in banks. “Now there is a failure, and the PM is not uttering a word. The PM will have to come out and say what happened, why it happened, and what is going to do now.”

In a statement, the Congress steering committee said the bank “scam” has exposed the complete failure of “regulatory mechanism” and “fraud detection ability” of the banking sector, and failure of the RBI and Finance Ministry in overseeing this.

“The manner in which thousands of crores of public money was looted with impunity and the complete failure of entire ‘risk management system’ tells its own story of favours extended and protection granted. The truth is that ‘bank scam’ has exposed the ‘culture of crony capitalism’ that has thrived and flourished under the Modi government,” it said.

It said the “great escape” of Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and dozens of other accused in banking and other frauds are irrefutable examples of complicity in the highest echelons of power. Referring to the Congress charge that complaints against Nirav’s uncle Mehul Choksi had reached the PM’s office in 2015, Rahul said, “We have heard that his office came to know that Nirav Modi has stolen Rs 22,000 crore of people’s money. But there was no response. So the PM will have to explain to the country.”