Modi govt gave loans to 'crony friends', but no debt relief for farmers, alleges Cong

Accusing the Modi government of waiving loans of crony capitalists worth nearly Rs 8 lakh crore, the Congress on Saturday demanded that the names of those people whose debt has been written off be made public and a high-level committee be constituted to examine the process of loan waiver. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said it is evident by various reports that the stressed assets in the banking sector have consistently climbed.

It was at 12 per cent in fiscal 2017, it is close to 16 per cent now, and nearly Rs 16,88,000 crore are stressed assets of banks which is a clear signal of an acute slowdown in the Indian economy, she said at a press conference. "It is also important to tell you here that loans worth Rs 7.77 lakh crore have been written off -- nearly Rs 8 lakh crore worth of loans have been written off and I think it is basic question to ask -- who are these people after all. Don't we as citizens of this country and taxpayers deserve to know whose loans have been written off?" Shrinate said.

"We have three demands -- names of those whose debt has been waived should be made public, a high level committee should be constituted to examine the process of loan waiver, and this committee should assess financial viability and potential of the banking sector," she said. Whenever the BJP government is questioned on the condition of the banking sector, they blame the previous government, but lying again and again does not change the truth, the spokesperson said.

What has the BJP government done for banking reforms in the past six years, Shrinate asked. The government will tell you that NPAs have gone down from 11.7 per cent to 9.2 per cent. It should have been good news and the economy should have improved. But the truth is different, banks are actually waiving loans of big crony capitalists, she said.

Earlier, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala cited a Credit Suisse report to allege that the Modi government waived loans worth Rs 7,77,800 crore of "crony friends" in five years, and asked why it could not give debt relief to farmers. "Shocking state of bank loan waivers, NPAs & impaired banking assets exposed by Credit Suisse report! Since 2014, Modi government has given super sized bank loans waivers worth Rs 7,77,800 Crore!" Surjewala said in a series of tweets.

Why is the Modi government not disclosing the names of the beneficiaries of this "largesse", Surjewala asked. "Gross banking NPAs are a whopping Rs 9,10,800 crore! Impaired banking assets are a colossal Rs 16,88,000 crore! Credit growth of private banks down to 12 per cent, PSU banks down to 4 per cent!" he said.

"Modi government can waive loans of Rs 7,77,800 crore in 5 years of crony friends, why no debt relief to India's farmers? Who is responsible for safety of people's money in banks?" Surjewala asked.