PNB fraud case a scam by the bank, not government: BJP tells Congress

With fraud worth Rs 11,400 crore being revealed at Punjab National Bank, the Centre is trying hard to distance itself from jeweller Nirav Modi, who is one of the accused in the scam.

Addressing a press conference on Friday Union Minister Prakash Javadekar claimed that the PNB scam started during UPA rule and the alertness of the NDA govt which has brought this scam into light, now."

"All the NPAs, the wrongful distribution of loans, amongst others were all passed down to us by the UPA Govt. This is a scam by the bank & not the govt," he said.

"Finance Secretary during UPA's regime, instead of taking action, forced Dinesh Dubey to resign. We are asking who pressurised the Foreign Secretary to pressurise Dinesh Dubey?" he further said.

"This is a banking fraud, which is being investigated. We are making sure that the money is recovered," he said.

"The difference between a Banking fraud and a scam involving the government can be seen in all the scams that took place during UPA government like Coal scam, that happened under the signed documents by then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh," he further claimed.

"The examples of scams involving a government are 2G, CWG, Jijaji and Coal Scams. These can not be equated with a banking level fraud taking place in connivance with unscrupulous professional," he explained.

Speaking on Davos group picture linking Nirav Modi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Javadekar said that "Rahul Gandhi is out on bail in National Herald scam. If someone had clicked his picture with me in the parliament, should that mean that I'm an accomplice in the offence committed by him? His attack on PM on the basis of a picture clicked in an official function is childish," he said.

OneIndia News