NDA govt should resign over PNB scam: Sharad Yadav

Rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav today demanded the Narendra Modi government's resignation over the alleged multi-crore-rupee Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam and accused the Centre of failing to protect the money of ordinary depositors. "A government is the most powerful entity after god. If it cannot protect public money, who else will? They (the NDA government at the Centre) should immediately resign," he told reporters here. Alleging that 90-95 per cent of the PNB "scam" had happened during the NDA government's tenure, Yadav said diamond merchant Nirav Modi was the hero in the social circles of Delhi. "The present regime claims that the country has become a superpower, but it has failed to bring back Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya. The banks monitor a loan given to a rickshaw owner with the highest alacrity but one who owes a loan of Rs 9,000 crore escapes from the country," he added. Claiming that the alleged PNB scam was a result of the Centre's Digital India programme, the JD(U) leader said the NDA government had failed to honour its promises, whether they were related to health, education or employment. "The people had voted the BJP to power to fulfil the promises made in its manifesto. Instead of fulfilling those promises, BJP spokespersons are saying this was going on since the Congress regime. They had promised two crore jobs but on the contrary, unemployment has increased," he said. Targeting the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, Yadav alleged that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had destroyed the Narmada and Tawa rivers by allowing sand mining on a huge scale. "It is not the chief minister's job to carry out a Narmada Parikrama. On the one hand, he is holding a parikrama and on the other, he is allowing a plunder of the natural resources. "Did they include the parikrama in the party's manifesto during the last election?" Yadav asked, adding that it was the government's responsibility to save the environment. The veteran leader also criticised the Madhya Pradesh government's Bhavantar Yojana, saying farmers should be paid the minimum support price (MSP) and not the difference of the MSP and the modal price (average market price for a particular commodity over a particular period) as was being done under the scheme. Replying to a question, Yadav said Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar had deceived 11 crore people of the state by joining hands with those against whom he had contested the Assembly election.