PNB fraud: PM Modi to blame for 'Chhota Modi', Congress says. What was UPA doing, govt asks

PNB fraud: PM Modi to blame for 'Chhota Modi', Congress says. What was UPA doing, govt asks

A political slugfest has erupted over Nirav Modi and the Rs 11,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud. The Congress slammed the Modi government while the government hit back at the UPA regime.

Congress, on Thursday, ripped into the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre. Putting the blame squarely on the government's doorstep, Congress called the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam as the "biggest scam after independence".

The government in turn has blamed the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance for the Rs 11,360-crore PNB scam. At the centre of the fraud is jeweller and diamond trader Nirav Modi.

Earlier Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted a "guide to loot India". According to Rahul the way to loot Rs 12,000 crore and flee the country was to be seen with the Prime Minister.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal also blamed the BJP government at the Centre. "Is it possible to believe that he [Nirav Modi] or Vijay Mallya left the country without active connivance of BJP government?"he tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also took to social media to tweet on the Neeraj Modi scam.

"Who is Nirav Modi? The new #ModiScam?" "Was he tipped off like Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya to escape by someone in the govt?" were among the questions Surjewala tweeted.

BJP hit back at the Congress immediately. Union Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman, on the campaign trail in Meghalaya, said: "The matter [PNB fraud] started during the UPA regime and now it has been detected."

Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla took the same line saying: "The PNB scam happened during the Congress regime . What was the Congress doing from 2011-14? The Modi government has highlighted the scam."