Loan write-off should not apply to fugitives: Chidambaram

Former finance minister P. Chidambaram has asked the government why the loans of fugitives like Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have been written off.

Chidambaram was commenting in a press conference on ongoing controversy where the Congress has alleged that the government had written off loans of 50 wilful defaulters including Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya.

The former union minister replied to the allegation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the majority of the loans were given during the UPA government and Modi government is trying to recover that amount.

"Technical loan write off route should not be applied to fugitives," said Chidambaram.

He said in his view technical write-off should not have been done in such cases and asked who is applying these rules.

The war of words between the Congress and the government intensified after the Congress alleged that the government is writing off loans while Information Minister Prakash Javadekar said writing off is not waiving off and asked Rahul Gandhi to take tution from P. Chidambaram.

The Congress on Tuesday slammed the government for writing off loans of top fifty wilful defaulters to the tune of Rs 68,607 crore, saying the government and the Finance Minister should come clean on it. The Congress charged the BJP with helping the defaulters.

"Till April 24, Rs 68,607 crore have been written off by the government. The Prime Minister cannot evade this question by keeping silent," said Congress Chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

The Congress said Rahul Gandhi had asked this question in Parliament, but the government did not respond. "But now an RTI has revealed the magnitude of the waiver," he said. IANS