Finance Minister Nirmala on Wednesday described the allegation of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi against state-owned banks as an insult to the hardworking employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system.
She, in a series of posts on X said that Gandhi has a habit of making false statements and that the truth is that excessive credit given by corporates and unsound lending under UPA leadership had resulted in severe deteriorative health of public sector banks.
The banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), has witnessed a turnaround of note under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi, after meeting a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation, accused the government of using public sector banks, the "lifelines of the masses", as an unlimited source of funds for their "fraudulent friends".
"The Modi government has turned these lifelines of the masses into private financiers for only the rich and powerful corporations, posting on X.
Attacking Gandhi, the Finance Minister said, "Misrepresenting facts @RahulGandhi is an insult to hard working PSB employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner stronger banking system. High time the @INCIndia up-skills the LOP's understanding of governance.
According to her post, it was actually during the UPA regime when Bank Employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through "phone banking" by the then Congress-led UPA government functionaries.
"Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that Asset Quality Review was launched by our Government in 2015, unearthing the 'phone banking' practices of UPA Govt? Modi Government took charge to initiate the reforms in the banking sector such as '4Rs' strategy," she said.
As part of the strategy, she said, the PSBs were supported through recapitalisation of Rs 3.26 lakh crore in the last 10 years.
"Citizen centric governance and inclusive development is the core principle of Modi Government. Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that 54 crore Jan Dhan accounts and more than 52 crore collateral-free loans under various flagship financial inclusion schemes (PM MUDRA, Stand-Up India, PM-SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma) have been sanctioned?, she wondered.
In response to employment generation, she mentioned the government has started recruitment processes and Rozgar Mela through all central government departments, ranging from banks to PSBs to fill in the lakhs of vacancies since 2014. As a result, PSBs have recruited 3.94 lakh employees.
As of October 2024, 96.61 per cent of officers are in position and 96.67 per cent of subordinate/award staff are in position, which illustrates sparse vacancies that are also being filled.
"Again, did not the people who met with the LoP tell him that 12th Bipartite Settlement (BPS) was signed, much ahead of the time taken for the agreement, thereby enhancing the incomes of the bank employees?, she quipped.
In 2015, RBI declared that all banks would be closed on the second & fourth Saturdays of the month.
She said women are doing well as MDs, CEOs, and leaders in the sector. The Modi government's commitment to women-led development is evident not just in policy but in practice.
The recent order that the Department of Financial Services issued to all the banks on November 26, 2024 clearly shows that the government is making sure that the banks look after women employees, their well-being, and concerns, she said.
"It involves Special leave provisions for Women Employees, which comprises leave during the menstrual period, infertility treatment, adoption of a second child and the events of stillbirth. Also, it covered transfer of women employees to nearby areas, no mid-year transfers etc,," she said.
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