Modi government running ‘loot and escape’ flagship programme: Congress on bank fraud case

As CBI registered its "biggest" bank fraud case of Rs 22,842 crore against Gujarat-based ABG Shipyard Ltd, Congress on Sunday accused the Narendra Modi government of running a "loot and escape" flagship scheme for "bank fraudsters" and questioned the delay in taking action despite it flagging the “scam” in 2018 itself.

BJP MP Varun Gandhi too waded into the controversy saying those who steal thousands of crores of rupees easily get bail but poor farmers and shopkeepers pay the price.

Varun, who has been commenting against his party on issues related to farmers and unemployment, tweeted, "if the farmer or small shopkeeper of the country is unable to repay the loan of even thousands of rupees, then he will be attached or he will be forced to commit suicide, but those who steal thousands of crores easily get bail and these people take money at arbitrary cost. After giving, they return to their splendid life."

Also Read — CBI books ABG Shipyard, directors in Rs 22,842 crore loan fraud

The CBI on February 7 registered a case against ABG Shipyard Ltd and its then Chairman and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal among others in a bank loan fraud case valued at Rs 22,842 crore. There was no response from ABG Shipyard Ltd.

Claiming that bank frauds of Rs 5.35 lakh crore took place in the last seven years that “wrecked” the banking system, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that the Modi government permitted “brazen embezzlement” of public money.

He said there was a delay of five years in registering the case despite the liquidation of ABG Shipyard starting in 2017 and it took the SBI to file two complaints in November 2019 and August 2020 to get a case registered by the CBI, that too after months of delay.

"Does this not prove complicity, collusion and connivance of those sitting in the highest echelons of power in the Modi government?" Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala claimed.

Also Read — CBI files FIR against Gujarat firm for Rs 632 crore `bank fraud'

“The Modi government is running a 'Loot and Escape' flagship scheme. The lists include Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Ami Modi, Neeshal Modi, Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, Jatin Mehta, Chetan Sandesara, Nitin Sandesara and many others with close connection and affection to the ruling establishment. Rishi Agarwal and others are the new 'gems' of the 'Shehenshah'."

He also alleged that ABG Shipyard Ltd was allotted 1,21 lakh square metres of land in 2007 by the Gujarat government when Narendra Modi was Chief Minister but the CAG has found that the state government gave undue favours to the company by allotting land at Rs 700 per square metre, while the price of land was Rs 1,400 per square metre.

Despite the CAG report, he alleged, the state government under Modi then proceeded to allot 50 hectares of land to ABG Shipyard in Dahej but the project was shut down by ABG Shipyard in 2015.

Surjewala also claimed that ABG Shipyard’s Rishi Agarwal had met with Modi during Gujarat Vibrant Summit and promised an investment of Rs 22,000 crore but it was never realised.

He said the liquidation process of ABG Shipyard was initiated on 1 August 2017 and Congress has on 15 February 2018 "warned" about the "scam" allegedly committed by ABG Shipyard. He said the bank accounts were declared as “fraud” on 19 June 2019.

"On 8 November 2019, the SBI filed a complaint to CBI for registration of FIR. Despite the apparent fraud and swindling of public money, CBI, SBI and the Modi government proceeded to complicate the entire matter in bureaucratic wrangling and file-pushing. This happened for years as the public money went down the drain and fraudsters gained," he alleged.

The SBI filed a second complaint on 25 August 2020 and after a delay of five years of the "fraud", the CBI lodged a case, he claimed while alleging that it was "intriguing" that the SBI in its second complaint had exonerated all bankers.

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