Nirmala Sitharaman refutes Rahul Gandhi's claims on loan write off, says Congress misled people

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman refuted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's claims on corporate loan write off, adding that the Congress party has misled people over this.

The matter pertains to recent RBI reply in an RTI that outstanding loans amounting to Rs 68,607 crore of top 50 wilful bank loan defaulters in the country have been technically written off till September 30, 2019. These include firms of fugitives like Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya.

Sitharaman in a series of tweets said that both Gandhi and Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala have tried to mislead people over the issue.

"Shri @RahulGandhi MP (LS) and Shri @rssurjewala spokesperson of @INCIndia have attempted to mislead people in a brazen manner. Typical to @INCIndia, they resort to sensationalising facts by taking them out of context. In the following tweets wish to respond to the issues raised" the FM tweeted.

She further added, "Provisions are made for NPAs as per the four-year provisioning cycle laid down by the @RBI. Upon full provisioning being done banks write-off the fully provided NPA but continue to pursue recovery against the borrower. No loan is waived off."

The Finance minister accused the Congress of resorting to "sensationalising facts by taking them out of context".

"India Inc and RahulGandhi should introspect why they fail to play a constructive role in cleaning up the system," she tweeted.

"Neither while in power, nor while in the opposition has the @INCIndia shown any commitment or inclination to stop corruption & cronyism," she further said.

Absconding dimantaire Choksi's company Gitanjali Gems tops the list of these defaulters with a whopping amount of Rs 5,492 crore, according to the list.

Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines figures in the list at number 9, with outstanding of Rs 1943 crore which have been technically written off by the banks.