Modi government turning blind eye towards Chinese loan apps, alleges Congress

Chinese loan app companies have siphoned off Rs 500 crore from India through the hawala route, claimed spokesperson Gourav Vallabh

Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of turning a blind eye towards suspicious Chinese apps promising loans and allowing them to siphon off Rs 500 crore from people who fell in their debt trap.

Claiming that it has "completely surrendered" while tackling international conspiracy and aggression against the country", party spokesperson Gourav Vallabh told a press conference that the government has "no strategy or focus" in tackling the situation that has led to the suicide of 52 people though such apps were banned in 2020.

"Actions against such apps were lacklustre," he said adding that an investigation in the first two months of 2021 found out over 1,100 digital loan apps available and the RBI acknowledged that at least 600 of them were "operating illegally".

"As per RBI, there was a jump of 12 times in loans on digital platforms between 2017 to 2020. Till now, 52 individuals in our country committed suicide due to blackmailing by these loan apps," he said.

Read | Google removed over 2,000 loan apps from India Play Store since Jan

Alleging that the "incompetence" of the government and agencies has led to multiple cases of suicides due to such debt traps, Vallabh claimed, "Chinese loan app companies have siphoned off Rs 500 crore from India through the hawala route. There has been no strategy, no focus by the Modi government in evaluating priorities. Certain Chinese apps were banned in 2020 but the action on such apps has been lacklustre."

"The Modi government lied to the nation, lacked the courage to even talk against the Chinese aggression, and failed in international diplomacy. It becomes tough to narrow down just a few areas where the Modi government has failed because there are so many. But the government has completely surrendered when tackling international conspiracy and aggression against us," he said.

He said the trend showed that such loan apps mushroomed since Covid-19 struck in 2020. "On one front, the Modi government has weakened the Indian economy pushing millions into poverty. This is one of the main reasons why lower and middle-income groups are forced to resort to such debt propositions. The other reason is the gross misdirection of focus for central agencies. Their resources are being directed to attacking opposition instead of tackling severe issues impacting us," he said.

He asked why were agencies sleeping when Chinese apps were siphoning off money from the country though it does visit Opposition leaders.

"Several lives have been lost due to the harassment by these money lending apps, and RBI is clueless. What is the Modi government waiting for to act on such apps? The Modi government talks a lot about Digital India. Does the Modi government want an India with its citizens and data being controlled by the Chinese government? How come these Chinese loan apps are able to operate in our country?" he added.