Export credit falling due to heavy-handed approach to NPAs: Chidambaram

A day after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blamed the UPA govt in his blog for the NPA crisis, Chidambaram said for the BJP govt, every problem was due to the Congress 'legacy'

The BJP-Congress spat over bad loans of banks continued on Friday with former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram blaming the government's "heavy-handed" approach to the NPA problem for the sharp decline in export credit.

He said despite government's claims of taking steps to boost exports, the export credit had declined sharply to Rs 223 billion in June from Rs 390 billion in the same month in 2017.

"Export credit declined from Rs 39,000 crore (Rs 390 billion) in June 2017 to Rs 22300 crore (Rs 223 billion) in June 2018. Yet government claims that it is taking steps to boost exports," Chidambaram tweeted.

 

 

 

"Thanks to the NDA government's heavy-handed approach to the NPA problem, banks have no money to lend and bankers have no mind to lend," he added.

 

 

 

"In a climate of suspicion and vendetta, the only thing a banker looks forward to is the date of retirement."

A day after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blamed the UPA government in his blog for the non-performing assets (NPA) crisis, Chidambaram said for the Bharatiya Janata Party government, every problem was due to the Congress "legacy".

"For the BJP government, its bloggers and bhakts, every problem is a 'legacy' issue. Wish to remind them that lifting 27.1 crore (271 million) people out of poverty is also a 'legacy' issue," the Congress leader said.

Referring to a report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), he said that 271 million people in India were lifted out of poverty in the 10 years between 2005-06 and 2015-16.

"Of those 10 years, the UPA was in the government for eight years."

Chidambaram's remarks came a day after Jaitley said all bad loans were given prior to 2014 when the United Progressive Alliance government was in power and that it took no effective steps to recover or reduce the NPAs.