Varun Gandhi now questions ‘strong govt’ on big bank loan fraud cases

In one of the most direct and straight attacks on his own party government, BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Friday said that a "strong" government should take "strong" action against the "super corrupt system" in which big bank loan fraud accused like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Rishi Agarwal thrive.

The frequency of Varun's tweets targetting the BJP and its governments has increased in the past few months, especially since the Lakhimpur Kheri incident where eight including four farmers were killed, in which Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni's son is allegedly involved.

On Friday, he tweeted in Hindi, "Vijay Mallya -- Rs 9,000 crore, Nirav Modi -- Rs 14,000 crore, Rishi Agarwal -- Rs 23,000 crore. When around 14 people are dying by suicide in the country due to the burden of debt, the life of these rich people are at the peak of splendour. A 'strong government' is expected to take 'strong action' against this super corrupt system."

This is not the first time that Varun has tweeted on the issue of bank loan fraud. Varun's choice of words ("majboot sarkar" or strong government and "majboot karyavahi" or strong action) is seen as a direct attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government. The ruling BJP has been talking about "strong government" under Modi taking "strong" actions against the corrupt and taking the country ahead.

The Pilibhit MP's remarks also come in the midst of campaigning and a day before Punjab goes to polls.

On February 13, after reports of alleged bank fraud by ABG Shipyard Ltd's Agarwal came to light, he had tweeted that if farmers or small shopkeepers are unable to repay the loan of even thousands of rupees, their property will be attached or they will be forced to commit suicide, but those who steal thousands of crores easily get bail.

He was also critical of the appointment of Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice Chancellor and had said that such “mediocre appointments serve to damage our human capital and our youth’s future”.

Earlier touted as BJP's counter to the Congress' first family, the Gandhi family, Varun has off late fallen out with the leadership and has been raising issues. He has also been critical of the handling of the economy and has written articles on rising unemployment and farmer issues.

He has been critical of the now-repealed controversial farm laws and has been demanding legal backing for Minimum Support Price (MSP). He also wrote to the Prime Minister seeking action against the Minister of State in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

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