Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday slammed Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for "making baseless statements" after he alleged misuse of public sector banks following a meeting with a bank union.
She said the Congress leader's "misrepresentation of facts is an insult to the hardworking PSB employees and to the citizens who benefit from a cleaner, stronger banking system".
Sitharaman alleged that bank employees were harassed and forced to give loans to cronies through "phone banking" by the then Congress-led UPA government functionaries.
"Didn’t the people who met with the LoP tell him that high concentration of corporate credit and indiscriminate lending during UPA tenure had resulted in significant deterioration in the health of PSBs? Under Congress, PSBs were treated as ‘ATMs’ for their cronies and shady businessmen," she said in a lengthy post on social media platform X.
She said the Modi government initiated a clean up of bad loans, reforms in the banking sector and recapitalisation of Rs 3.26 lakh crore for PSBs.
Nirmala Sitharaman also said that public sector banks have recruited 3.94 lakh employees since 2014 and the government has cleared employee-friendly measures under the 12th Bipartite Settlement.
In her post, the minister highlighted the following points:
17% increase in salary and allowances (Rs 12,449 crore), with a 3% load (Rs 1,795 crore) attracting terminal benefits.
New pay scales and cost sheets for all cadres.
Base year for calculating DA/DR updated from 1960 to 2016 for staff and pensioners.
Revised halting rates, lodging expenses, deputation allowances, and road travel reimbursement rates.
Updated medical insurance policy for retirees with a Base policy concept.
Enhanced Staff Welfare Fund (SWF), raising the annual ceiling from Rs 540 crore to Rs 845 crore, benefiting 15 lakh staff members, including retirees.
The minister's retort comes after Gandhi met with a delegation from the All India Banking Officers Confederation.
"Modi government must stop using PSBs as an unlimited source of funds for their fraudulent friends. There’s also more to a public sector bank than a dividend cheque to the govt at the end of the year," he said in a post on X.
Focus On Women Employees
Rahul Gandhi alleged that women employees in PSBs are not given equal opportunity or advancement and "forced to bear the brunt of dissatisfied public".
Responding to this, Sitharaman said women are excelling as managing directors, chief executive officers, and leaders in the sector.
She cited a recent order from the Department of Financial Services to all banks that entails special leave provisions for women employees, including those related to leave during the menstrual period, infertility treatment, adoption of a second child and the events of stillbirth. Moreover, it includes transfer of women employees to nearby areas and no mid-year transfers.
The move "clearly shows that the government is making sure that the banks look after women employees, their well-being and concerns", the minister said.
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