'Earlier Manmohan Did, I Did, So Should Current Finance Minister Jaitely Take Responsibility For PNB Scam,' Says Yashwant Sinha

In a scathing attack against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, senior Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said that the Nirav Modi-PNB scam is a result of 'systemic failure' and that the minister in charge "cannot be absolved of his constitutional responsibility for this scam."

In a piece that appeared on NDTV website, Sinha raised "10 questions for Arun Jaitley on Nirav Modi Scam", urging the NDA government to make all the information available to the public to avoid confusion.

"It is not possible for any Finance Minister to personally supervise the day-to-day functioning of every organization and institution under his control; yet under our parliamentary system the ultimate responsibility will rest with the minister who is responsible for that ministry," he said pointing out previous incidents where the ministers were dragged to the office of inquiry.

"The Finance Minister cannot be absolved of his constitutional and democratic responsibility for this scam."

Criticising both the government and the opposition over the politicial slugfest over this 'serious issue', Sinha said that the silence of Prime Minister and especially the FM is "defeaning".

A Rs 11000 crore Punjab National Bank scam involving the haut diamantaire Nirav Modi has exposed the frailities of the banking system. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate have registered cases on the complaint by the bank, and launched nationwide searches on dozens of offices and residences of the alleged fraudsters.

Asking Jaitley to take responsibility, he said: "In the earlier scams, like the 1992 Harshad Mehta scam, it was the government of the day and in particular Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister who was charged for being responsible for the scam. Similarly, I faced an inquiry in Ketan Parekh Scam."

He further blamed the government for raising "irrelevant issues to divert attention".

"Modi government has much to explain in the coming days," he further added saying "the banking industry stands nearly destroyed in the last four years."

Sinha has been critical of the Modi government's economic policies. In Spetember he came out all guns blazing in a scathing piece where he said that he would be ‘failing’ his ‘national duty’ if he did not speak out about the ‘mess’ that the current Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has made of the economy.