Quoting the second FIR filed by the CBI in the PNB scam, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Saturday said that all letters of understanding (loUs) to the accused were signed in 2017 under the NDA Government, which failed to prevent the scam from happening. "Is this the kind of 'Ease of Doing Business' PM Modi talks aboutIJ I challenge BJP to come and talk about UPA's governance and their governance. Because of their ill-intentions they have brought India's economy to its knees," Sibal said at AICC press briefing on the issue.
Sibal, also a noted lawyer, accused the Prime Minister's Office and the finance ministry of turning a blind eye to the multi-crore bank scam, saying they were very much aware of it. "They were aware of all this. But they turned a blind eye. They were aware that the country was being looted," alleged the Rajya Sabha member.
Sibal also questioned why the HRD Minister and the Social Justice Minister were fielded by the Government to defend it on the matter. "What does a HRD Minister have to do with thisIJ Is the Minister very admiring of the quality of the human resource of Nirav ModiIJ What does the Social Justice Minister have to do with thisIJ What has the law Ministry to do with this scamIJ" he asked and said neither the finance ministry nor the RBI has come forward to answer questions.
He also alleged that the market capitalisation of listed companies in the gems and jewellery business is pegged at Rs 41.66 billion, while its gross current debt stands at Rs 94 billion. "This means that the debt is twice the market capitalisation and that is a scam in itself. Who can say that the Government did not know this," he asked.