PNB scandal: Congress demands white paper on bank sector

The PNB branch in Fort Mumbai from where Rs 11.300 Cr fraud has been spotted. Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar, 14th February 2018, Mumbai

THE CONGRESS on Sunday demanded a white paper on the health of the Indian banking sector and alleged that links between alleged bank fraudsters and the highest echelons of the NDA government raise serious questions about the health of the Indian economy. Continuing its attack on the government over the Rs 11,000 crore Punjab National Bank fraud, senior Congress leader Manish Tewari said, “Bank frauds are tumbling out of closet faster than you can say Jack Robinson. While this Modi-Choksi tango is still going on, reports have emerged about another alleged bank fraud…”.

He claimed that the total NPAs (Non Performing Assets) of Indian banks is around Rs 8.36 lakh crore as on September 30 last year. “And 77 per cent of these NPAs are leading Indian corporate houses who owe this money to the Indian banking system. India ranks fifth out of the 39 major world economies in NPAs.”

“The extent of the bank fraud over the last five years is Rs 61260 crore, according to the RBI. And out of these five years, four years the NDA-BJP has been in government,” he added.

“The Congress would like to demand that the… NDA-BJP government immediately brings out a white paper on the health of the banking sector. All banks — public banks and private — must declare and publish a complete list of their NPAs as of December 31 , 2017… so that people know who owes how much money to which bank. After all, the money in the banks is the money of the people,” Tewari said.