Public Sector Banks treated as ATMs under Congress-led UPA rule: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Finance Minister said it was actually under the Congress-led government when PSBs were treated as "ATMs" and banks were "forced" to give loans to "cronies through 'phone banking' by the then Congress-led UPA Govt functionaries"

Slamming Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for his "baseless statements" on the functioning of public sector banks under the Modi government, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said "PSBs were treated as ATMs for their cronies and shady businessmen," during the Congress-led UPA regime. Earlier in an X post on Wednesday, Gandhi accused the Centre of turning PSBs into "private financiers for only the rich and powerful corporations."

"Public Sector Banks were designed to give every Indian access to credit. The Modi government has turned these lifelines of the masses into private financiers for only the rich and powerful corporations," he alleged. Countering his remarks, Sitharaman said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the PSBs have seen a "remarkable turnaround."

"Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi's penchant for making baseless statements is on full display, yet again. India's banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), have seen a remarkable turnaround under @PMOIndia @narendramodi. Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of PSBs?" Sitharaman said in a series of posts on X on Wednesday.

The Finance Minister said it was actually under the Congress-led government when PSBs were treated as "ATMs" and banks were "forced" to give loans to "cronies through 'phone banking' by the then Congress-led UPA Govt functionaries."

"PSBs were treated as 'ATMs' for their cronies and shady businessmen. It was actually during the UPA regime when bank employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through "phone banking" by the then Congress-led UPA Govt functionaries. Didn't the people who met with the LoP tell him that Asset Quality Review was launched by our Government in 2015, unearthing the 'phone banking' practices of UPA Govt?," she said.

She further mentioned that under PM Modi's leadership, PSBs were supported through recapitalisation of Rs 3.26 lakh crores, and highlighted various flagship schemes like 54 crore Jan Dhan yojana accounts and financial inclusion schemes like PM MUDRA, Stand-up India, PMSVANidhi which have benefitted people by sanctioning 52 crore collateral-free loans.

"Rahul Gandhi's misrepresentation of facts is an insult to the hardworking PSB employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system. It's high time the INC India up-skills the LOP's understanding of governance," Sitharaman said in the post.

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