PNB scam: Govt, Oppn trade charges

NEW DELHI: The BJP strongly hit out at the Congress calling billionaire diamond merchant and jeweller Nirav Modi "Chhota Modi (Little Modi)" in a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said it is "derogatory, scandalous and demeaning" to the PM.

Prasad said many in the country shared the surname Modi and attributed the Congress' attack on the PM to the opposition party's "anger at its defeat" in multiple elections.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that PM Modi was aware of 42 FIRs pending against the absconding. The Congress accused PM Modi of helping the jeweller escape the country though he had been aware of a scam since 2016 when a whistleblower wrote to him on Nirav Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi and warned that he would leave the country.

Earlier on Thursday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi mocked the Centre with a tweet titled "Guide to Looting India", in which he accused Nirav Modi of wielding his alleged 'influence' with the PM to get away with the fraud.

Prasad clarified Nirav Modi was not part of the business delegation that accompanied PM Modi to Davos and is believed to have arrived there on his own and joined the group photo. The jeweller had no interaction with the Prime Minister, he asserted, saying, "I wish to deny with full authority that the allegation is wrong. Nirav Modi did not have any private meeting with the Prime Minister.

A Congress leader, the minister said, "had once tweeted an image of a show by Nirav Modi which Rahul Gandhi had attended. What would they want to say about that?"

Prasad said the government would take strong action against anyone found involved in the fraud, saying Nirav Modi's assets worth Rs. 1,300 crore has been seized, and his passport is being revoked. "Even if he is abroad we will investigate. India's standing globally is different now; people listen to our voice today. The investigation is proceeding with great speed."

Other opposition parties too made comparisons with liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who left the country in the middle of attempts by banks to recover unpaid loans from him.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday demanded a thorough and time-bound investigation into the fraud in state-owned Punjab National Bank.

Left leader Sitaram Yechury demanded a clarification from the government. "If this person had fled India before the FIR on Jan 31, then he is here, photographed at Davos with PM, a week before the FIR, after having escaped from India? Modi govt must clarify," he said, tweeting the Davos photo.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "Is it possible to believe that he or Vijay Mallya left the country without active connivance of the BJP govt?