A war of words erupted over the disinvestment of IDBI Bank after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Centre of putting state-run assets on a "Season End Sale." Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back strongly, accusing the opposition of shedding "crocodile tears" and reminding Yadav of the legacy of non-performing assets (NPAs) left behind by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, which his party had supported.
The clash comes on the heels of the government advancing the strategic disinvestment process of IDBI Bank, following approvals to offload a majority stake in the lender.
Akhilesh Yadav posted on 'X': 'Selling Everything Off'. Criticising the government's privatisation drive, the Samajwadi Party president took to social media to allege that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was liquidating state assets ahead of an impending political decline.
Also Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay
FM Sitharaman Hits Back
Responding directly to Yadav, Sitharaman rejected the allegations and mounted a counter-offensive on the UPA-era track record of public sector banks, pointing out that the Samajwadi Party had backed the UPA coalition between 2004 and 2014.
Sitharaman pointed out that during the UPA's tenure, public lenders suffered under political interference and unchecked bad debt:
"Shri Akhilesh Yadav ji, since 2004, your party's support was extended to the UPA. Given the dire state in which the UPA left the banks, it's surprising that you're talking about banks today, when back then you didn't even raise a single question with your allied parties!" Sitharaman posted.
Taking aim at what she described as structural corruption during the previous regime, the Finance Minister said:
"Today, your allied parties within the INDI alliance had ruined public sector banks through 'phone banking' and 'crony capitalism.' During the tenure of the UPA government, which was supported by your party, IDBI Bank itself extended loans to such individuals that we're still struggling to recover even the principal and interest from to this day."
Banking Turnaround Under NDA
Defending the Modi government's financial sector reforms, Sitharaman noted that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had revitalised a heavily burdened banking ecosystem through systematic capital infusions, clean-up drives, and transparent governance frameworks.
"It is our NDA government, under the leadership of the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, that has revived IDBI Bank along with the entire banking system through transparent policies and capital infusion," she said.
"It's astonishing-now that the banks' position has been strengthened, why are you feigning this false sympathy? Why these crocodile tears?" she added.
IDBI Bank Disinvestment
IDBI Bank, once weighed down by severe bad loans, underwent a major rescue in 2019 when state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) acquired a majority stake. Over subsequent years, following multi-crore capital infusions and aggressive bad-loan recoveries, the lender successfully exited the Reserve Bank of India's Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework, returning to sustained profitability.
The Centre and LIC together hold around 94% equity in IDBI Bank and have been working to transfer a combined 60.7% controlling stake along with management control to strategic private bidders.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
