PNB fraud | Stop behaving as if you are guilty! Speak up: Rahul Gandhi to PM Modi, Arun Jaitley

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday once again took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the fraud at Punjab National Bank.

State-owned PNB has been rocked by the fraud involving billionaire diamond jeweler Nirav Modi who allegedly acquired fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. 

"PM Modi tells kids how to pass exams for 2 hrs, but won't speak for 2 mins on the 22,000 Cr banking scam.....Mr Jaitley is in hiding," he said in a tweet.

The Congress leader also asked the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to stop behaving as if they were guilty! "Speak up," he said.

PM Modi tells kids how to pass exams for 2 hrs, but won't speak for 2 mins on the 22,000Cr banking scam.

Mr Jaitley is in hiding.

Stop behaving as if you're guilty! Speak up. #ModiRobsIndia

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 18, 2018

Earlier, Rahul launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister, asking him to explain why it has happened and what steps he is taking to ensure that the banking system is safe in India.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also took a jibe at Modi government over the Punjab National Bank fraud saying, money laundering happened during demonetization.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. This big banking fraud was fuelled at the time of #DeMonetisation. Big money laundering happened during DeMo. Key bank officials were changed. Who are these people put in? There are more banks involved. The full truth must come out

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) February 18, 2018

The BJP has alleged that the multi-crore PNB scam involving billionaire jewellery designer Nirav Modi happened during the UPA rule and the Congress was spreading lies to mislead the public.

The BJP, which fielded Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to counter the Congress's charges, claimed that it was under the NDA government that the alleged scams committed during the UPA rule were being unearthed.

The Congress has alleged that the scam took place in 2017 under the Modi government when letters of understanding were signed by Punjab National Bank in favour of the companies of Nirav Modi and his partner and uncle Mehul Choksi.

Sitharaman said Nirav Modi may have been able to run away from the country, but the government is taking action against him, and claimed that it will "surely nab him".

Punjab National Bank scam was started in 2011 and was detected in the third week of January this year, after which the PNB officials reported it to the concerned agencies.

On January 31, the CBI registered an FIR against Nirav Modi, his companies and his uncle Mehul Choski.

The FIR has listed eight fraudulent transactions worth over Rs 280 crore but based on further complaints from the bank the CBI now says the amount investigated in the first FIR is over Rs 6,498 crore, involving 150 Letters of Understanding allegedly fraudulently issued by Shetty and Kharat.

The remaining 150 fraudulent LOUs worth over Rs 4,886 crore issued for Gitanjali group of companies are part of the second FIR registered yesterday by the agency against Choksi and his companies Gitanjali Gems, Nakshatra Brands and Gili, they said.

All these LOUs were issued or renewed during 2017-18, the officials said.