The Congress in Mumbai has accused the Centre of pressuring Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and State Bank of India (SBI) to bail out debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).

LIC is the single largest owner in IL&FS with 25.34 per cent stake, while SBI holds 6.42 per cent in the infra major backed by the Government.

The IL&FS group is facing serious liquidity crisis and has defaulted on interest payment on various debt repayments since August 27. It has over Rs 91,000 crore in debt at the consolidated level.

Addressing a Press conference Friday, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam alleged that “bankruptcy” at the infrastructure lending giant is a result of “poor” corporate governance at the company under the BJP-led Government. The Centre has been pressurising the state-owned LIC and SBI to bail out the debt-ridden company with money that belongs to the common people of the country, he said. The former MP demanded a probe into the matter.

“Being a 30-year old infrastructure lending giant, IL&FS has gone completely bankrupt today. How did the debt of this company jump by 44 per cent and its profitability decline by 900 per cent only in the past three years?” he asked. The entire stock market has been shaken in the past two weeks over this issue, Nirupam said.

LIC has almost 29 crore policyholders and a majority of them are common people. The Government wants LIC, along with the largest public sector bank SBI, to spend their money which belongs to the common people to protect the foreign investors, he said.

The Government is monitoring the situation of IL&FS and would take appropriate action to ensure that there is no undue impact on the financial system, said Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg Friday in New Delhi.