Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman fired off a strong riposte against the allegations made by Congress Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi about the performance of Indian banking sector, specially PSU banks, claiming in these two years, India's Public Sector Banks are considered to be 'ATMs' for their 'cronies and shady businessmen during the United Progressive Alliance years.
In a series of lengthy tweets, FM Sitharaman said that Rahul Gandhi’s penchant for making baseless statements is on full display, yet again.
"India's banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), have seen a remarkable turnaround under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of PSBs?" asked FM Sitharaman.
"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 Govt functionaries," the Finance Minister posted on X.
Sitharaman also went into detail on the financial aid offered to PSBs, noting that the government had recapitalized them with Rs 3.26 lakh crore in the last decade.
She argued that this investment benefits not only the banks but also the public since dividends from PSBs serve as a source of income for investors.
"The Public also has a shareholding in the PSBs and dividends are the source of income for such investors also. Not just for the GoI. Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that during the UPA rule these PSBs paid dividends of Rs 56,534 crore?" said FM Sitharaman.
In his X post, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that PSBs were designed to give every Indian access to credit.
“The Modi government has turned these lifelines of the masses into private financiers for only the rich and powerful corporations,” he alleged, claiming that PSBs “are being forced to prioritise profit over people and are thus unable to serve the public effectively”.
FM Sitharaman countered Rahul Gandhi’s allegations, saying citizen-centric governance and inclusive development is the core principle of PM Modi government.
Did not the people who met with the LoP inform 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 asked.
FM Sitharaman also cited the PM MUDRA scheme where 68 percent of beneficiaries are women and under the PM-SVANidhi scheme, 44 percent of beneficiaries are women.
"Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that loans up to Rs. 10 lakh have increased by 238 per cent in the last 10 years, and their share in total loans has also increased from 19 per cent to 23 per cent?" said the finance minister.
On the issue of recruitment drives in the banking sector, she said that since 2014, PSBs had recruited nearly 3.94 lakh employees and as of October 2024, 96.61 per cent of officers and 96.67 per cent of subordinate staff were in position.
She further said that Rahul Gandhi’s misrepresentation of facts is an insult to the hardworking PSB employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system.
“It’s high time the @INCIndia up-skills the LOP’s understanding of governance,” said FM Sitharaman.
Read also| Farooq Abdullah Accuses Centre of Bringing Rohingyas to Jammu and Kashmir
