Yes Bank crisis: BJP alleges all financial crimes in India have link to Gandhis
BJP’s Amit Malviya posted a clip from a TV news report on Twitter, alleging that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sold a painting to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor.
The crisis at Yes Bank and the arrest of its founder Rana Kapoor led to a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Sunday. Amit Malviya, who controls BJP’s information and technology wing, alleged that every financial scam in India had a link to the Gandhi family, while the Congress questioned if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were sleeping when the bank’s debts mounted.
Malviya posted a clip from a TV news report on Twitter, alleging that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sold expensive paintings to Kapoor.
“Every financial crime in India has deep link with the Gandhis,” Malviya said. “[Vijay] Mallya used to send flight upgrade tickets to Sonia Gandhi. Had access to MMS [Manmohan Singh] and PC [P Chidambaram]. Is absconding. Rahul [Gandhi] inaugurated Nirav Modi’s bridal jewellery collection, he defaulted.”
Responding to Malviya’s allegations, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the entire amount that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra received from the sale of her father Rajiv Gandhi’s MF Hussain’s painting, worth Rs 2 crore, was in cheque and disclosed in her income tax return, according to PTI.
Singhvi added that linking members of the Gandhi family to scams was a “diversionary” tactic by the government. He noted that Yes Bank’s debt rose from Rs 55,633 crore in March 2014 to Rs 2,41,499 crore in March 2019. “Why did the loan book rise by 100 per cent in two years after demonetisation, from Rs 98,210 cr [crore] in March 2016 to Rs 2,03,534 cr [crore] in March 2018? Were PM and FM sleeping, ignorant or complicit?” he asked.
Kapoor was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Sunday over money laundering charges in connection with the Yes Bank’s loans to the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Limited, PTI reported. He was remanded to three days in custody till March 11 by a special holiday court in Mumbai, reported the Hindustan Times. Investments to the tune of more than Rs 2,000 crore, 44 expensive artwork, and a dozen alleged shell corporations have been a part of the Enforcement Directorate’s inquiry against Kapoor.
The Enforcement Directorate is mainly investigating Kapoor, his wife, and three daughters over a Rs 600 crore fund received by a company allegedly controlled by them from an entity associated with the scam-hit DHFL. On Sunday, his daughter Roshni Kapoor was stopped from flying out to London.
The Reserve Bank of India had placed Yes Bank under a moratorium last week and took over its board. The RBI had said it took the decision due to the “absence of a credible revival plan, and in public interest and the interest of the bank’s depositors”. RBI also had announced a draft scheme for reconstruction of Yes Bank. The board of SBI has already given an in-principle approval to explore the possibility of buying a 49% stake in Yes Bank.