Financial anarchy in the country under PM Narendra Modi: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena sought to know from the Centre as to what action it has taken against the bank loan defaulters.

MUMBAI: In yet another attack on its estranged NDA ally BJP, the Maharastra-based Shiv Sena on Saturday said that the nation is reeling under "financial anarchy" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance.

Uddhav Thackeray-led party said that many banking frauds to the tune of several thousand crores have come to light during the four-year-old rule of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government.

The party also sought to know from the Centre what action it had taken against those who "looted" banks.

"The economy of the country has been destroyed under the Modi government. Modi wanted to show that he, and not (his predecessor) Manmohan Singh, was the real economist by bringing the rupee at par with the US dollar," the Shiv Sena said in a fiery editorial in its party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"However, the national currency has plummeted to its lowest levels," it said.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said banks and financial institutions are engaging in unprofessional manner and those who "looted" banks ran away from the country under Modi's nose.

Attacking the Modi regime, Shiv Sena asked "what happened to the promises of not tolerating corruption and sending those engaging in it to jail?"

It also cited the recent criminal case registered against Pune-based developer DS Kulkarni for allegedly cheating a public sector lender to underscore that many banking frauds have come to fore during the Modi regime.

Allegations of wrongdoing have also been levelled against ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and businessmen Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, the Sena editorial said.

"Big industrialists have drowned loans worth nearly Rs 1.25 lakh crore. This includes big names and nationalised banks. How many chairmen of banks have gone to jail for giving loans illegally? What strong step has Finance Minister Piyush Goyal taken against those who looted banks?" it asked.

Reiterating that demonetisation caused panic in the country and adversely affected its economy, the editorial said, ''The country is reeling under financial anarchy (due to note-ban) and it is only increasing."

"The demonetisation caused a lot of harm to the unorganised sector and unemployment increased. Also, claims that demonetisation would end terrorism in Kashmir proved to be hollow," the party said.

The party also demanded that a police case be registered against the RBI Governor over the demonetisation exercise, which led to scrapping of high-value notes. 

(With PTI inputs)