PM Modi deliberately twisted, deflected issues: Jairam Ramesh

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of «deliberately twisting» and deflecting issues of the alleged «misuse» of LIC and public sector banks to help his «cronies».In a swipe at the opposition during his reply to a debate on the no-confidence motion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day said his rivals have a «secret boon» that whosoever they wish bad for, ends up doing well as it happened with PSUs such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Life Insurance Corporation of India. Responding to the jibe, Ramesh said on X, formerly known as Twitter, «The Prime Minister deflected and deliberately twisted the issue of misuse of LIC and Public Sector Banks(PSBs) during the No Confidence Motion today,» «Three questions that Mr.

Modi will not have the courage to answer: Did you play any role in forcing LIC to invest Rs 30,000 crore in the Adani Group when even normally aggressive private fund managers steered clear of doing so? Is it not your duty to protect LIC's 30 crore policyholders by ensuring that public sector financial institutions invest responsibly and not to enrich your friend,» he asked. Ramesh, a former union minister, claimed that public sector banks, especially SBI, accounted for three quarters of Indian banks' debt to the Adani Group which he said was another example of the public sector bank taking more risk than its private counterparts to «help your cronies».

A report clearly suggested that the public sector loans were riskier and made against the Adani Group's weaker assets, Ramesh said. «What role did you have in encouraging such irresponsible risk taking by PSBs,» he asked the PM.