Arun Jaitley Hits Back At Rahul Gandhi Over Mandsaur Speech: How Much Does He Know? When Will He Know?

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley today led his party's charge at Rahul Gandhi following the Congress chief's sharp attack on the central and Madhya Pradesh governments and questioned how much does he know and when will he know?

"Every time I listen to the view of Shri Rahul Gandhi, both inside and outside Parliament, I ask myself the same question - How much does he know? When will he know?" Jaitley said in a Facebook post in response to Gandhi's speech in Mandsaur in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP has been in power for 15 years.

The finance minister termed as factually and completely false Gandhi's claim that the Modi government had waived loans of Rs 2.5 lakh crore of 15 top industrialists while BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the allegation was the Congress chief's attempt to register his presence after a "vacation" abroad.

"Listening to his speech delivered in Madhya Pradesh today reaffirms my curiosity about the answer. Is he being inadequately briefed or is he being a little too liberal with his facts," Jaitley wrote.

On Gandhi's accusation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has waived the loans of Rs 2.5 lakh crores of the 15 top industrialists, he said this is factually and completely false.

The government, he said has not waived a single rupee due from any industrialist. The facts are to the contrary.

"Those who owed money to the banks and other creditors have been declared insolvent and removed from their companies by IBC enacted by Prime Minister Modi's Government. These loans were given largely during the UPA Government," said Jaitley, who is recuperating from a kidney transplant surgery.

On Gandhi's comment that Modi has given Rs 35,000 crore each to two diamond jewellers who have now escaped out of the country, he said this is factually not correct.

He added that the banking fraud started in 2011 when the UPA II was in power and it was only detected during the NDA period.

The Congress president was apparently referring to absconding diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi who have allegedly defrauded Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).

Gandhi has also accused the NDA government of giving loans only to industrialists and not to farmers.

In his first public event following his return from abroad, where he said he had gone for his mother Sonia Gandhi's regular medical check-up, Rahul promised farmers loan waiver in Madhya Pradesh within 10 days if his party comes to power there and slammed the central and state government over the plight of the agriculturists.

Hitting back, Jaitley said Gandhi's claims described the UPA government, particularly UPA II.

The bulk of today's NPA or bad loans were given by the banking system during the period 2008-14, he added.

"From 2014, we have been systematically taking one step after the other to recover these monies back" the post said.

Jaitley further said that in 2014 when UPA went out of power, there were only two mobile phone manufacturing units in India.

In 2018, with the result of the NDA government's electronics policy and the incentives in a four year period, this has increased to 120 units with an investment of Rs 1.32 lakh crore.

On Gandhi's charge that jobs are not being created, Jaitley cited the latest GDP data to emphasis that India is the fastest growing economy in the world.

Speaking to the media, Patra claimed that the Modi dispensation had done "1000 per cent more" than the UPA for the community.

Citing the expenditure by the central government on procuring some major produce, Patra told reporters here that the corresponding figures under the Congress-led UPA government were many times less.

The procurement of lentils, oil seeds and cotton under the UPA in 2011-14 was 16,04,447 metric tonnes while it was 61,81,840 metric tonnes under the NDA government in 2014-17, an increase of 285 per cent, he said.

"The money spent by the UPA government in this period was Rs 8,310 crore while the NDA spent Rs 42,970 cr, 417 per cent," he said.

Still you are asking questions Rahul Gandhi. You should have known better," he said.

The Congress chief had addressed a public rally at Pipliya Mandi in Mandsaur district to commemorate the first anniversary of police firing during an agitation in which six farmers were killed.

PTI