The expose by the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi was hiding in plain sight in London kicked off a political furore in New Delhi with the Congress accusing the Narendra Modi government of running a “resettlement programme for fraudsters” and the BJP responding by pointing out that the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) problem was a UPA legacy.
‘Loot and scoot’
“Fugitive Nirav Modi has been seen enjoying in London, living in a ₹75 crore flat and wearing a £10,000 jacket,” All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of media, Randeep Surjewala said.
He added that Prime Minister Modi was making it possible for such “fraudsters” to loot and run away.
“First loot ₹23,000 crore from banks, then run away from the country without any checks, mock the CBI and the ED and then make a comfortable home in a ₹75 crore flat. (Narendra) Modi is there, so it is possible,” he said.
“It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running a bank fraudsters settlement company for the likes of Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi,” he alleged.
Reacting to the newspaper report, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram, in a series of tweets, said, “When Lalit Modi stayed on in the U.K., I wrote to the U.K. Chancellor that he should be sent back to India. Mrs Sushma Swaraj mocked me for writing letters. Now Nirav Modi is walking on the streets of London. Will Mrs Sushma Swaraj swoop down, pluck him off the street and bring him back to India?”
Inherited crisis: BJP
In response, the BJP’s official Twitter handle put out a series of tweets castigating the Congress over its own record with NPAs.
“Nirav Modi’s fraud to cheat the banks started in 2011 when the UPA government was in power. It was detected and exposed during the Modi government,” the party said
“The offender was declared a fugitive, assets seized, illegal house blown up, businesses closed. Criminal cases filed, tax evasion, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and criminal fraud actions being pursued by our agencies,” the party added.
It went on to assure that “many of those who cheated India during the UPA government had been brought back and are in custody, others will follow.”
Published - March 09, 2019 09:47 pm IST
