Kumaraswamy picks up on scamsters' Rs 68,000 loan write-offs; puts into Covid context

Janata Dal-Secular leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre after RBI wrote off Rs 68,000 crore loans of wilful defaulters. He said it has been done at a time people were dying, farmers are distressed and the middle class is facing "economic doom."

'What patriotism! What nationalism!'

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy questioned the patriotism and nationalism of the BJP government at the Centre and reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his slogan 'Na Khaunga, Na Khaane Dunga'.

"Really? At a time when the whole world is worried about unprecedented economic emergency, writing off Rs 68,000 crore loans of willful big fish defaulters became the best antidote to the economic crisis? And how is 50k cr package to mutual funds going to help the common man?" he tweeted.

"The poor are dying by the roadside, farmers are desperate, the middle class is faced with economic doom. The government has done little to help. But it writes off loans of those who are facing charges of fraud! What patriotism! What nationalism!" he tweeted.

Over ₹68,600 cr loans of wilful defaulters written off

Outstanding loans amounting to ₹68,607 crores of top 50 wilful bank loan defaulters in the country including firms of Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya have been technically written off till September 30, 2019, the Reserve Bank of India said in an RTI reply. Absconding diamantaire Choksi's company Gitanjali Gems tops the list of these defaulters with a whopping amount of ₹5,492 crores, according to the list. This is followed by REI Agro with ₹4,314 crore and Winsome Diamonds with ₹4,076 crores.

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Rotomac Global Private Limited has funded advances of ₹2,850 crores which have been technically written off and Kudos Chemie Ltd with ₹2,326 crores, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited, now owned by Ramdev's Patanjali, with ₹2,212 crores and Zoom Developers Pvt Ltd with ₹2,012 crores being the other companies. Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines figures in the list at number 9, with an outstanding amount of ₹1,943 crores which have been technically written off by the banks.

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(With agency inputs)