BJP says people will give vote of confidence to it in 2024

New Delhi, Oct 28 (PTI) The BJP on Saturday hit back at the Congress for its “defaulter kaal” jibe at the government, saying it is fascinating that the very architects of India’s NPA crisis have the audacity to question the resolution of a disaster they engineered.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier taken a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the reported rise in dues from wilful defaulters, alleging that his government is taking India’s economy to “defaulter kaal”.

BJP’s I-T department head Amit Malviya refuted the charge and said on X that it is due to the government’s efforts that every public sector bank is now in profit.

He said former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, an “ally” of the Congress, was unambiguous in pointing out that many of the problematic loans originated during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era between 2004 and 2014.

Replying to Kharge’s assertion that people will respond in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to the government’s assault on economy, Malviya said, “People of India will indeed reply, but with a vote of confidence for the BJP that took decisive actions, rather than the Congress and its alliance partners, that created the mess.”

Banks were under tremendous political pressure to lend and they were so reckless that they lent hundreds and thousands of crores to unworthy companies and businessmen close to the Congress, he alleged.

These bad loans were not “recognised” and were kept hidden using various accounting trickery, and were discovered only after the Asset Quality Review (AQR) was initiated in 2015 by the Modi government, he said.

“We bravely and honestly confronted and solved the NPA problem, rather than adopting Congress’ tactics of concealing it,” he said, citing measures like infusion of over Rs 3 lakh crore into public sector banks.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was enacted for a strong legal framework for better debt recovery and strict measures taken against willful defaulters, Malviya said.

The write-offs are a mere accounting and regulatory necessity and not waivers, he said.

“Banks pursue the cases of defaults in legal forum for recovery. Banks have recovered more than Rs 10 lakh crore in the last 9 years,” he said.

Public sector banks’ profits have soared from Rs 36,000 crore in 2013-14 to an Rs 1.04 lakh crore in 2022-23, he noted.

“Net NPAs of the banks are around one per cent, the lowest in 15 years. Banks’ gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio continued its downtrend and fell to a 10-year low of 3.9 per cent in March 2023,” he said.

“So, before hurling baseless accusations, the Congress should perhaps reflect on their own legacy. The Congress establishment, under whose watch these bad loans increased, is now trying to evade responsibility. The irony is palpable,” he said.

Citing a media report, Kharge had said, “Narendra Modi ji, Your government is taking India’s Economy to ‘Defaulter Kaal’! Distributing ‘Muft Ki Revdis’ to cronies and demolishing the savings of the common people has been your only agenda.”

He added, “Come 2024, and people of India shall reply to each and every assault that you made on the Economy!”