india

Updated: Apr 28, 2020 16:24 IST

The Congress on Tuesday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre after a RTI query a couple of days ago revealed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had written off a staggering amount of Rs 68,607 crore due from 50 defaulters, including absconding jeweller Nirav Modi and his partner Mehul Choksi.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala who was interacting with the media via a video conference cited the RTI query and demanded to know how the government had the money to waive bad loans when the entire country was facing financial instability due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Waiving off bad loans of huge amounts for willful defaulters has become the mantra of the BJP. On March 16, 2020, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had demanded to know the names of 50 loan defaulters from the Union government on the floor of the house. The government had refused to divulge those names. On April 24, these bad loans were written off. When the entire country is fighting the coronavirus pandemic and at least 14 crore people have lost their livelihood, how can the government possibly waive Rs 68,607 crore in bad loans?” Surjewala questioned.

“The Modi government has been unmasked and the fact that it is working towards writing off such bad debts shows that the government is hand in glove with the defaulters. In the list of 50 defaulters, absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are on top. We demand answers,” the Congress leader said.

“Can the Modi government afford to waive such bad debts and if it manages to do so, the government needs to inform citizens how that is possible,” Surjewala said.

Simultaneously, Surjewala reiterated the Congress party’s pledge to fight the Covid-19 health crisis along with the government and provide every possible support that the Centre may need.

Indian banks have technically written off a staggering amount of Rs 68,607 crore due from 50 top defaulters, according to a reply under RTI from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).