ABG a/c became NPA during Congress rule: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, February 14

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied to the Opposition’s criticism that the government took a long time to file the first fraud complaint in the Rs 22,483 crore loan default by a Gujarat-based company. She said the time taken was less than normal and that ABG Shipyard’s account had become a non-performing asset (NPA) under the Congress-led UPA regime.

“I am sitting on the RBI premises, so I don’t want to talk too much about politics, but I am sorry for the kind of noise coming from the biggest ‘ghotala’ in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s time. Not at all. This was a loan given prior to 2013 and it had become even an NPA by 2013. So people dig holes into which they themselves fall,” said Sitharaman in Mumbai after delivering the customary post-Budget address to the RBI Board.