Unsatisfied with govt response on bank defaulters, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Anurag Thakur's response in the Lok Sabha on wilful bank defaulters.

"I had asked a simple question about the names of 500 wilful defaulters. But I was not given a clear answer. What hurt me was that the Speaker did not allow me to ask a supplementary question which is my right as a member of Parliament," Rahul told reporters at the Parliament House.

In a written question, Gandhi had asked the names of wilful defaulters and measures taken to recover loans advanced to them.

To this, Minister of State (MoS) for Finance Anurag Thakur said: "A list of wilful defaulters is available on the website. There is nothing to hide. All these people took money went away during their (Congress) government. The question posed by a senior member of the House shows his lack of understanding of the subject."

But the senior Congress leader questioned the government for not disclosing further details of the defaulters.

"Why is the government defending the wilful defaulters? Why is it not revealing their names in the Parliament?" he added.

Gandhi raised a question in Lok Sabha and accused the government of not replying to his question but Thakur hit back, saying the government will hide nothing and will now allow itself to be blamed for "sins" of others.

He said Modi government has taken a series of steps to recover money from fugitive economic offenders and a list of wilful defaulters is available on the website.