FM flays Rahul over bank remark, says people benefited from stronger banking system

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at Rahul Gandhi after the Leader of the Opposition accused the government of misusing state-run banks and their wealth.

"Rahul Gandhi has a penchant for making baseless statements and the fact is that high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of public sector banks," she said in a series of posts on X on December 11.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) @RahulGandhis penchant for making baseless statements is on full display, yet again.Indias banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), have seen a remarkable turnaround under @PMOIndia@narendramodi

Didnt the people who met with the Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 11, 2024

After meeting a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation earlier in the day, Gandhi 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," he said in a post on X.

Public Sector Banks 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.I met with a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation, pic.twitter.com/oGbciXRfup Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 11, 2024

Sitharaman called the allegation as an insult to the hardworking employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system. Banking sector, especially public sector banks (PSBs), have seen a remarkable turnaround under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said.

"@RahulGandhi'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," she wrote.

Bank employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through "phone banking" by earlier Congress-led UPA government functionaries, she said in her post. "Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that the asset quality review was launched by our government in 2015, unearthing the 'phone banking' practices of the UPA? The 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 lenders were supported through recapitalisation of Rs 3.26 lakh crore in the last 10 years.

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"Citizen-centric governance and inclusive development form the core principle of the 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.

About employment generation, she said, the government has undertaken recruitment drives and Rozgar Mela initiatives to fill lakhs of vacancies across all central government departments, including banks and PSBs. Since 2014, the banks have recruited 3.94 lakh people.

As on October 2024, 96.61 percent of officers are in position and 96.67 percent of subordinate/award staff are in position, showing meagre vacancies which are also being filled.

"Again, didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that the 12th Bipartite Settlement (BPS) was signed, far ahead of the usual time taken for the agreement, thereby enhancing the incomes of the bank employees?," she added.

Women are excelling as MDs, CEOs, and leaders in the sector, she said. "he Modi government's commitment to women-led development is evident not just in policy but in practice."

An order issued by the Department of Financial Services to all banks on November 26 clearly shows that the government is making sure that the banks look after their women employees, their well-being and concerns, she said. "It entails Special leave provisions for women employees, including those related to leave during the menstrual period, infertility treatment, adoption of a second child and the events of stillbirth. Also, it included transfer of women employees to nearby areas, no mid-year transfers, etc," she said.