Rahul attacks PM, says bank scam impossible without top-level protection

Aditi Tandon 

Tribune News Service 

New Delhi, February 17

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a frontal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the “20,000-crore banking fraud involving Nirav Modi could not have been possible without top-level protection”.

Gandhi was addressing reporters after the conclusion of the AICC steering committee which decided to hold the party’s much-delayed session in Delhi on March 16, 17 and 18.

Gandhi said the “PM has destroyed the economy with his moves starting with demonetisation”.

“It all began with November 8, 2016 when the PM demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency. People put their money in banks and others are running away with that money. The PM undertook to safeguard people’s money but look what’s happening. The PM will have to answer what happened and why this happened and what he proposes to do about it,” Gandhi said.

He rejected allegations that he personally knew Nirav Modi saying these are PM’s diversionary tactics.

“PM spent one-and-a-half-hour with children yesterday but said nothing on the Rs 20,000 crore scam by Nirav Modi who ran away with the money. Mr P Chidambaram told me such a scam is not possible without top-level protection. The government knew of the scam from May 2015,” Gandhi said.

He wondered why barring the PM and FM, who are concerned with the scam, all other ministers are commenting on the issue.

Gandhi trashed allegations that the scam is dated 2011 saying 90 per cent of it happened in BJP time.