Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday criticized Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for making what she called “baseless statements” regarding India’s public sector banks (PSBs). The comments came after Gandhi’s post on social media, where he accused the government of forcing PSBs to prioritize profit over public service, thus failing to serve the needs of the people.
In his post, Gandhi claimed that PSBs, initially set up to provide every Indian with access to credit, were now being used to benefit only wealthy corporations under the Modi government’s policies. He also highlighted issues such as staff shortages, a toxic work environment, and lack of equal opportunities for women employees in PSBs. Gandhi further alleged that the government was using public sector banks as an unlimited source of funds for their “fraudulent friends” and claimed that the government’s focus was only on dividends at the end of the year.
In her response, Sitharaman defended the Modi administration’s handling of the banking sector, stating that the public sector banks had experienced a “remarkable turnaround” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. She criticized the Congress for allegedly mismanaging PSBs during its tenure.“
Didn’t the people who met with the LoP (Leader of Opposition) tell him that the high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during the UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of PSBs? Under the Congress, PSBs were treated as ‘ATMs’ for cronies and shady businessmen,” Sitharaman said in an X post.
Sitharaman also pointed out that it was during the UPA regime that bank employees were allegedly pressured to provide loans through “phone banking,” a practice that was uncovered by the Modi government’s Asset Quality Review (AQR) in 2015. She emphasized that the Modi government introduced reforms like the ‘4Rs’ strategy, which included recapitalizing PSBs with a total of Rs 3.26 lakh crore over the past decade.
The Finance Minister further stressed that the public sector banks were also accountable to the citizens, who are shareholders in these institutions. She reminded Gandhi that during the UPA rule, PSBs paid out ₹56,534 crore in dividends, which directly benefitted the public.”
Citizen-centric governance and inclusive development are the core principles of Modi Government,” Sitharaman said, citing achievements such as the opening of 54 crore Jan Dhan accounts and the sanctioning of over 52 crore collateral-free loans under various financial inclusion schemes like PM MUDRA, Stand-Up India, PM-SVANidhi, and PM Vishwakarma.
In conclusion, Sitharaman reaffirmed that the current government’s focus is on ensuring that public sector banks serve the needs of all Indians, with an emphasis on inclusive growth and financial inclusion for all segments of society.
