Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman entered into a dispute on social media regarding the government's decision to sell its stake in IDBI Bank. The opposition leader in Lok Sabha supported protesting employees.
After Rahul wrote to 'IDBI Bank family members,' he accused the government of selling banks, which contradicts the establishment of banks during the Congress rule. He stated in an X post: 'During the Congress era, IDBI was created to develop the nation's industry. During Modi's time, first an auction was conducted, and then the price was set.'
He also questioned the necessity of selling a stake in a bank that earned a profit of 900 billion rupees last year.
In response, Sitharaman accused the Congress of using banks and financial institutions as 'personal structures' and pressuring employees to 'issue loans at their discretion, bypassing reasonable lending norms.'
She noted that the Modi government inherited IDBI Bank, which was in poor condition because Congress politicians forced it to provide money to business houses such as Videocon, Winsome Diamond, ABG Shipyard, and Kingfisher, with whom they had close ties. 'These loans turned bad, leading to huge losses for IDBI Bank, which we acknowledged.'
The Finance Minister stated that thanks to a recapitalization of 250 billion rupees, the Modi government restored health to the bank. She emphasized that in the 'strategic restructuring' of IDBI, due process was followed, refuting reports of government misconduct when completing the deal that will bring over 520 billion rupees to the Centre and LIC.
Sitharaman added: 'The banking system of the Congress era had a phone book for influential people and a set of rules for ordinary citizens. The era of 'connections and banking favors' is over. Now ordinary people have easy access to loans, and employees are not under pressure to issue loans over the phone.'
IDBI Bank unions announced a strike on November 2 and 3 against the government's move to sell its stake. Rahul supported the employees, stating: 'I support you in your fight today and fully support all your legitimate demands.'
Rahul also mentioned that he had raised a question in Parliament about the reasons for the decision to sell the profitable bank. 'The government gave no reasons. Now it has decided to sell IDBI Bank to the Canadian company Fairfax,' he wrote, referencing a meeting with employees in March.