NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed noisy scenes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked the Central government to disclose the names of the top 50 wilful loan defaulters in the country. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Congress leader sought information about the top defaulters and measures taken by the Centre to recover loans advanced to defaulters.
He alleged that the government was hiding the names of defaulters and asked them to name 50 top wilful defaulters.
“The Indian economy is going through a very bad phase. Action should be taken against those who looted the banks. The government should reveal the names of the 50 largest wilful defaulters,” he said.
Responding to Rahul’s question, minister of state for Finance Anurag Thakur said that the Congress government was responsible for the banking crisis as loans were given during the grand old party’s tenure. He also rubbished the allegation that the government was hiding information about the defaulters.
However, Rahul Gandhi and Congress leader in the House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury protested on Thakur’s reply, saying Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was present in the House, should reply. On this, the Speaker said normally the junior ministers answer during the Question Hour.
Talking to media outside the Lok Sabha, Rahul said that he was not satisfied with the answer and accused Speaker Om Birla of not allowing him to ask a secondary question.
“I had asked a simple question about the names of wilful defaulters. But I was not given a clear answer. What hurt me was that the Speaker did not allow me to ask a secondary question which is my right as a member of Parliament,” he added.