‘PNB scam has laid bare PM’s promise of a graft-free nation’

The Shiv Sena on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ₹11,400-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. The Sena in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana alleged that Nirav Modi, who is at the centre of the scandal, had been a ‘partner’ of the BJP and helped it collect funds for elections.

‘BJP’s partner’

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, a BJP ally, said the PNB scam had reduced to tatters Prime Minister Modi’s promise of putting an end to corruption in the country. The editorial said, “It has come to light that Nirav Modi left the country in January. However, he was seen with the Prime Minister in Davos just a few weeks ago [during the World Economic Forum]. Nirav Modi has been a partner of the BJP and was at the forefront in helping the BJP collect funds for their elections.”

The Sena said it would not allege that the diamond trader had plundered the country with the blessings of BJP leaders. However, the party alleged there were many such Nirav Modis who had been helping the BJP increase its wealth and win many elections.

The editorial said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election slogan ‘Na khaunga, na khane dunga’ proved ineffective in this case. An FIR had been lodged against Nirav earlier. How did he then manage to go to Davos and meet PM Modi, along with other industrialists?”

The editorial said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swung into action and sealed Nirav Modi’s properties only after he had left the country.

The editorial said that politicians like Chhagan Bhujbal and Lalu Prasad Yadav were behind bars in corruption cases, but liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi have fled the country from right under the nose of the government.

It said, “Talks of a corruption-free India and transparent government have been laid bare in just three years. Farmers are committing suicide as they cannot repay their debts of ₹100 and ₹500, but here people have absconded [after swindling] lakhs of crores.”

Publicity blitz

The Sena said that the NDA government was being run on advertisements and thousands of crores had been spent on their publicity campaigns. Despite being a member of the BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and at the Centre, the Sena has been critical of the Modi government over several of its policy decisions.