Chidambaram: Culture of lending has been practically destroyed

P Chidambaram

A day after the Finance Ministry announced that it has done away with holding MDs and CEOs of public sector banks responsible for compliance in dealing with large-value frauds committed by bank officials, former finance minister P Chidambaram Wednesday said nothing that the BJP government will do now will revive the culture of lending that has been “practically destroyed.”

Hitting out at the government, the Congress leader said the “hard truth” is that no banker wants to lend now. “After accusing bankers of doing telephone banking and hounding them for six years, government does not have the humility to say “we were wrong, we are sorry”. How many upright bankers were investigated, humiliated and even arrested in the last six years?” he asked. “No banker wants to lend. That is the hard truth. Nothing that the BJP government will do now — including ring fencing — will revive the culture of lending that has been practically destroyed,” he tweeted.