UPA govt showered industrialists with concessions: BJP

Hitting back after Rahul Gandhi's "pro-rich" jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP today alleged that the UPA government had showered business houses with concessions and loans worth over Rs 36.5 lakh crore which the government is working to recover now.
It also rejected the Congress vice president's corruption charge against Modi, claiming even the Supreme Court had not taken note of the allegations, earlier levelled by his "political guru" Arvind Kejriwal.
At a press conference soon after Gandhi's rally in Uttar Pradesh, BJP National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said these allegations against Modi date back to 2013 when Gandhi was "super prime minister" and the then UPA government could find nothing despite agencies like CBI, ED and I-T working under it.

Seeking to turn the tables on Gandhi over his constant efforts to paint Modi as a "pro-corporate and pro-rich", he cited RBI figures released soon after BJP came to power in 2014 to claim that debts of Gautam Adani, Anil Ambani, Shashi and Ravi Ruia, and Sunil Mittal were Rs 72,632 crore, Rs 1.13 lakh cr, Rs 98,412 cr and Rs 57,744 cr respectively.
"Rahul Gandhi has been accusing us of being pro-corporate. He should tell people why and on whose behest the UPA government let these industrialists run so much of debt....
"It showered business houses with concessions and loans running into Rs 36.5 lakh crore. All these debts Modi is trying to recover," Sharma said.

(Reopens DEL 54)

The root of the Rahul Gandhi's "problems" with Modi is that the Gandhi family has been unable to reconcile to him becoming the Prime Minister, Shrikant Sharma alleged.
Modi will remain Prime Minister for years to come and he should accept it, the BJP leader said.
He said people's faith in Modi has only strengthened and while his government is known for probity, "scams" during the UPA government continue to make headlines.
It has become a habit of Rahul Gandhi to level "thoughtless" allegations and he had earlier accused Modi of spying on him when police visited him for security details as he is a SPG protectee, Sharma said.

Congress is opposing the government's push for less-cash economy as it cannot "survive" without commission which it has been getting with cash transactions, he alleged.