Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman termed the allegation of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi against state-owned banks a  “misrepresentation of facts” and an “insult to the hardworking employees and to the citizens” who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system.

Banking sector, especially Public Sector Banks (PSBs), have seen a remarkable turnaround under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underlined the Finance Minister in a long post on X.

Earlier today, Mr Gandhi, after meeting a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation, accused the government of using public sector banks, the “lifelines of the masses”, to prioritise profit over people and are thus unable to serve the public effectively.

“Public Sector Banks are being forced to prioritise profit over people and are thus unable to serve the public effectively. With staff shortages and a toxic work environment, they are expected to reach unachievable targets without a level playing field,” Mr Gandhi said after hearing the members of the confederation.

Attacking Mr Gandhi, the Finance Minister said, “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 @INCIndia up-skills the LOP’s understanding of governance.” 

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) @RahulGandhi‘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…

— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) December 11, 2024

The Minister claimed that it was during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government when bank employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through “phone banking”.

“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? Modi Government took charge to initiate the reforms in the banking sector such as ‘4Rs’ strategy,” she said.

As part of the strategy, she said, the PSBs were supported through recapitalisation of Rs 3.26 lakh crore in the last 10 years.

“Citizen centric governance and inclusive development is the core principle of Modi Government. Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that 54 crore Jan Dhan accounts and more than 52 crore collateral-free loans under various flagship financial inclusion schemes (PM MUDRA, Stand-Up India, PM-SVANidhi, PM Vishwakarma) have been sanctioned?” she asked.

With regard to employment generation, Ms Sitharaman said, the government has undertaken recruitment drives and Rozgar Mela initiatives to fill lakhs of vacancies across all central government departments, including banks and PSBs. Since 2014, PSBs have recruited 3.94 lakh employees.

“Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that since 2014, PSBs have recruited 3.94 lakh employees? As on October 2024, 96.61% of Officers are in position and 96.67% of Subordinate/ Award Staff are in position, showing meagre vacancies which are also being filled,” she said. 

Women are excelling as MDs, CEOs, and leaders in the sector, she said, adding, the Modi government’s commitment to women-led development is evident not just in policy but in practice.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court today ruled that public sector banks do not have the power in law to issue Look Out Circulars (LOCs) against default borrowers.

The high court’s verdict would render all LOCs issued by such banks against defaulters as quashed.

A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar held as unconstitutional the clause of an office memorandum issued by the central government empowering the chairpersons of public sector banks to issue LOCs against default borrowers.

Advocate Aditya Thakker, appearing for the Union government, sought the high court to stay its order but the bench refused.

The court passed its verdict on a bunch of petitions challenging validity of the said clause.

The bench said the Bureau of Immigration shall not act upon such LOCs (issued by banks against defaulters).

The court also said its judgment would not affect the orders issued against any defaulter by a tribunal or a criminal court restraining them from travelling abroad.

While the office memorandum issued by the Centre was not ultra vires the Constitution, the clause empowering the chairperson of a public sector bank to issue LOC was “arbitrary and without power in law”, the high court said.

The Centre’s office memorandum, in an amendment made in 2018, empowered the public sector banks to issue LOCs in the “economic interest of India”.

This essentially restrained a person from travelling abroad if his/her departure could be detrimental to the economic interest of the country.

The petitioners contended that the words “economic interest of India” cannot be equated with the “financial interests” of any bank.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)