Give loans to poor instead of rich who run away from country: Cong leader Hanumantha to PM Modi

Instead of rich, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should start giving loans to the poor who will not run away from the country, said senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao on Friday while speaking on the occasion of 50th anniversary of bank nationalization.

"Instead of giving loans to the rich people who run away from the country after receiving it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should start giving loans to poor people. The poor will pay back their loans. Like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, the rich will leave the country once they get the money," Rao told ANI.

Rao along with other leaders garlanded the statue of Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister who nationalised Indian banks.

Rao said: "Fifty years ago, except the State Bank of India (SBI), all the banks in India were in the hands of the rich. As a result, poor people were exploited and looted in the name of interest. It was her idea, which led to the nationalisation of banks."

He said that Gandhi always stood with the poor and her approach was to empower the poor by providing financial assistance to them. She thought that if poor get loans, India will develop. "The people will always remember her for that step," he said.