Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the proposed IDBI Bank sale, saying the lender was handed over to the Narendra Modi-led government in poor financial condition. She accused successive Congress governments of exerting political pressure on banks to extend loans to businesses with links to influential political figures.

The exchange comes a day after Rahul Gandhi opposed the government’s decision to sell IDBI Bank to Canadian company Fairfax. The Congress leader questioned why a bank that had returned to profitability was being sold and raised concerns about the future of its employees, reservation policies and the government’s reduced ownership.

In a post on X, Sitharaman alleged that IDBI Bank had been compelled to extend loans to several large business groups with connections to Congress leaders. She named Videocon, Winsome, ABG Shipyard and Kingfisher, saying the loans subsequently turned into bad debts and caused substantial losses to the bank.

Defending the NDA government’s handling of the lender, the Finance Minister said it had been revived through professional management, prudent lending practices and recapitalisation of more than Rs 25,000 crore.

“IDBI Bank is now poised for its next phase of growth,” she said, adding that all due procedures had been followed in the bank’s strategic restructuring.

Sitharaman cites instances of alleged political interference in banking

The Finance Minister also accused the Congress of treating public sector banks and financial institutions as personal entities, alleging that political influence had been used to bypass established lending practices.

To support her argument, Sitharaman referred to several incidents from different periods of Congress rule.

She cited the 1957 Haridas Mundhra episode, alleging that LIC funds were extended to him under the influence of Congress leaders.

She also referred to the removal of State Bank of India chairman R.K. Talwar in 1976 during Indira Gandhi’s government. According to Sitharaman, Talwar was removed after resisting political pressure to relax lending conditions for a company associated with Sanjay Gandhi’s circle.

The Finance Minister further alleged that Sanjay Gandhi had pressured the Central Bank of India over loans to Maruti.

She also named former Minister of State for Finance B. Janardhana Poojary, alleging that he pressured bank employees to issue loans during the 1980s.

Another instance she mentioned involved former UPA minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, whom she accused of pressuring Canara Bank to extend loans to businesses linked to his family.

Taking a swipe at the Congress, Sitharaman said the practice of influential people using political connections to obtain bank loans was over. She maintained that ordinary citizens now had easier access to credit and bank employees were no longer under pressure to approve loans through political recommendations.

Why Rahul Gandhi is opposing the IDBI Bank sale

Rahul Gandhi had criticised the government’s decision to sell IDBI Bank in a post on X on Thursday, arguing that the institution was established during Congress rule to support India’s industrial development.

He questioned the government’s approach to public sector banking, contrasting the establishment of banks during Congress rule with their proposed sale under the Modi government.

Gandhi also shared a letter addressed to IDBI Bank employees, expressing support for their concerns over the transaction.

Recalling his meeting with a group of bank employees at Parliament House in March last year, the Congress leader said they had questioned why the government wanted to sell a lender that they had helped turn profitable.

He credited the employees for the bank’s financial recovery and questioned the rationale behind its proposed sale.

Gandhi also raised concerns about the government’s commitment to maintaining its ownership in IDBI Bank.

He said Parliament had been assured in 2003 that the government would retain at least 51 per cent ownership in the bank. While acknowledging that the commitment was not written into law, he described it as a promise made to Parliament and the people.

The Congress leader further questioned the implications of private ownership for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, along with the service conditions of bank employees.

He argued that public sector banks should remain instruments of nation-building rather than being treated as assets for sale.

Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been included in the Uttar Pradesh BJP’s state executive committee ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The appointment marks his first inclusion in the party’s state-level executive panel, according to the report.

The committee was constituted on October 26 by Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary ahead of a meeting scheduled in Lucknow to discuss the party’s organisational work and preparations for the state elections.

Singh, a former president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), had largely remained away from the BJP’s organisational activities following sexual harassment allegations made by women wrestlers. His inclusion comes nearly three months after a Delhi court acquitted him in the case, although the acquittal has since been challenged.

First inclusion in the state executive committee

Despite his long political career and influence in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Singh had not previously been given a position in the BJP’s national or state organisational structure, according to party sources cited in the report.

A BJP leader described his appointment as the first time Singh had been made a member of the state executive committee. Six other BJP leaders from Gonda district have also been included in the panel.

The expanded committee has 712 members, including 134 special invitees and 30 permanent invitees, according to the report. The previous state executive committee had 184 members.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been included as a permanent invitee from Varanasi. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and former BJP national president Murli Manohar Joshi are also among those included in the panel.

BJP had dropped Singh from the 2024 Lok Sabha race

The BJP did not field Singh in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections amid the sexual harassment allegations against him. Instead, the party nominated his younger son, Karan Bhushan Singh, from the Kaiserganj constituency, which Brij Bhushan had represented previously.

Karan Bhushan Singh won the seat in his first election. During the campaign, Brij Bhushan Singh confined his campaigning to Kaiserganj and urged voters to support his son, describing the outcome as a response to those he said were attempting to end his political career.

A senior BJP leader quoted in the report said the party had denied Singh a ticket in 2024 because of the allegations. The leader added that the court’s acquittal could allow him to participate more actively in party programmes.

However, any decision about a future Lok Sabha nomination would depend on the party’s leadership.

Acquittal challenged by women wrestlers

On August 3, a Delhi court acquitted Singh in the sexual harassment case involving six women wrestlers. The allegations had triggered widespread protests by prominent wrestlers in 2023 and put the BJP under political pressure.

The acquittal has been challenged by four of the women wrestlers. According to the report, a Delhi court on October 28 gave Singh a week to respond to their appeal.

The legal challenge remains relevant to the case’s status, even as Singh’s inclusion in the state executive signals his return to the BJP’s formal organisational structure.

BJP prepares for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections

The state executive committee meeting in Lucknow is intended to discuss the BJP’s organisational roadmap ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address the opening session, while Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to address the concluding session, according to the report.

The expanded panel includes leaders from across Uttar Pradesh, with Varanasi and Gorakhpur among the districts with the highest representation.

Singh’s appointment comes as the BJP prepares its organisation for the next Assembly election, while his legal case and political role remain subjects of public and political attention.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress on Wednesday after the party failed to win any seats in Legislative Council by-elections held across four states. Referring to the use of ballot papers in the elections, the Prime Minister questioned the party’s performance in the contests.

The by-elections covered 28 Legislative Council seats across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Congress contested 12 seats, including four that it had previously held, but failed to secure a victory in any of them, according to the reported results.

The setback was particularly notable in Karnataka, where Congress is in power but did not win any of the four Legislative Council seats contested in the state.

What PM Modi said about the MLC election results

In a post on X, Modi referred to the elections held across the four states and highlighted that ballot papers had been used for voting.

“MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?” the Prime Minister wrote.

He accompanied the post with a monocle emoji, adding a mocking tone to his question about the party’s performance.

The reference to ballot papers came amid the Congress’s broader objections to electronic voting machines and its demands for a return to paper ballots. Modi’s post drew attention to the party’s failure to win any of the seats it contested in these particular elections.

Congress draws a blank across four states

The Legislative Council by-elections covered constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.

Congress contested 12 of the 28 seats but could not secure a win. Four of the seats it contested had previously been held by the party.

Karnataka emerged as a significant setback for Congress, which governs the state. The party failed to win any of the four seats contested there.

The overall outcome provided the context for Modi’s remarks, which linked the election results to the use of ballot papers rather than electronic voting machines.

Why the ballot paper reference matters

Congress has raised concerns about the use of electronic voting machines and called for a return to ballot papers. Modi’s post drew a contrast between those demands and the party’s performance in elections conducted using paper ballots.

However, the results of these Legislative Council by-elections relate to the specific seats contested across the four states. They do not, by themselves, establish any broader conclusion about the integrity of other elections or the merits of different voting systems.

The Prime Minister’s remarks were a political swipe at Congress following its performance in the MLC bypolls.