Finance Minister Sitharaman Hits Back at Rahul Gandhi’s Remarks on Public Sector Banks, Says UPA Used Banks as ATMs for Friends

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has strongly countered Rahul Gandhi’s recent remarks on public sector banks. She called his statement “baseless” and suggested that he should recall the UPA era, during which government banks served as “ATMs for the Gandhi family’s friends.”

Sitharaman’s remarks came after Rahul Gandhi accused the Modi government of misusing public sector banks in a social media post.

Rahul Gandhi had stated that public sector banks were originally established to provide loans to the poor. However, he alleged that under the current central government, these banks are being used primarily as financiers for the wealthy.

Controversy Sparked by Rahul Gandhi’s Social Media Post

The entire dispute began with a social media post by Rahul Gandhi. On December 11, around 12 PM, he shared a video on platform X (formerly Twitter), where he was seen interacting with a delegation from the All India Banking Officers’ Association.

While posting the video, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Today, I met with a delegation to discuss the state of our public sector banks and their impact on ordinary citizens. They highlighted how, instead of prioritizing services for the common people, public sector banks are being driven by profit motives. The Modi government must stop using these banks for the benefit of its fraudulent friends.”

Finance Minister Responds, Says Banks Were in Poor Condition During UPA Rule

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman issued a strong rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi’s statements, emphasizing the significant reforms achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In her response, she stated, “Rahul’s baseless remarks have surfaced again. India’s banking sector, particularly public sector banks (PSBs), has witnessed unprecedented improvements under PM Modi’s leadership.”

She further questioned whether those who met with the opposition leader had informed him about the state of PSBs during the Congress-led UPA regime. “Did they not tell him how the concentration of corporate lending and reckless loan disbursements during the UPA era deteriorated the condition of PSBs? At that time, public sector banks were used as ‘ATMs’ for the close friends of those in power,” Sitharaman remarked.

The Finance Minister also pointed out that during the UPA tenure, bank employees were pressured and intimidated into issuing arbitrary loans through a practice she referred to as “phone banking.” She highlighted that her government, in 2015, initiated an “Asset Quality Review” to uncover the financial irregularities of the UPA era.