Rahul Gandhi questions PM Narendra Modi’s silence over Punjab National Bank fraud

Rahul Gandhi questioned PM Narendra Modi’s silence over the escape of PNB fraud accused Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi (File | PTI)

NEW DELHI: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the escape of PNB fraud accused Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi even as the party described the CBI and ED raids on their premises a mere show.“Where is the country’s watchman? People want to know the secret of his silence, which shows who he is loyal to,” Rahul tweeted in Hindi, referring to the PM without naming him. Rahul also brought up similar escapes by defaulters like former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and industrialist Vijay Mallya during the BJP government’s rule.

Wondering how Choksi had managed to flee the country when he had been declared a proclaimed offender by a Chandigarh court on August 4, 2017, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari described the ongoing raids against the diamond merchants as a mere show.“What is the point of closing the stable door after the horses have bolted,” said Tewari.

When it was pointed out that Modi had not responded to the Congress’ questions over the issue, Tewari said the party believed in democracy and would continue to play the role of a responsible Opposition.
“We leave it to the PM’s wisdom to answer our questions or not. The people will decide,” he said.

Differentiating between bank frauds and NPAs, the Congress urged the government to come out with a white paper on the banking sector. “The various banks have reported frauds worth `61,000 crore to the RBI over the past few years. The government should make the records public,” said Tewari.Slamming the Centre’s suggestion of privatising public sector banks, Tewari said it was a foolish move given the fact that the Indian economy could withstand the 2008 global meltdown largely due to public sector banks.