IDFC First Bank fraud matter rocks Haryana Vidhan Sabha

Chandigarh: A day after IDFC First Bank exposed a Rs 590-crore fraud involving Haryana government accounts, the Opposition Congress on Monday raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha, with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announcing a probe.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini assured the House that a probe has been ordered and the State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau and the vigilance are investigating the matter.

Be it a bank employee or any government employee, anyone who is found involved will not be spared, Saini told the House.

In a regulatory filing made on Sunday, the IDFC First Bank had said it has disclosed the matter to the banking regulator and also filed a police complaint.

The Haryana government has de-empanelled IDFC First Bank for government business with immediate effect, the CM told the Assembly.

Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Hooda raised the issue in the Haryana Assembly.

In response, Saini said after discrepancies were detected, the government immediately decided to transfer the funds to another bank.

“The government is taking this issue seriously, be it bank employee or any other employee, anyone who is involved, strict action will be taken,” he said.

Bhupinder Hooda stated that the bank detected the irregularities and demanded the government should tell the House what action it has taken.

CM Saini said, “We are investigating the matter very seriously”.

“The ACB is investigating it. Our government works in a transparent matter. It is not an issue which we will take lightly,” he assured.

Meanwhile, Hooda also raised the MNREGA issue, stating: “MNREGA was a revolutionary scheme of the Congress. During the Congress government, workers in Haryana were paid the highest wages in the country. However, as soon as the BJP came to power, it attacked the rights of workers. After coming to power, the BJP set about weakening MNREGA.”

Speaking to reporters on the IDFC First Bank matter later in the day, the LoP said: “The government is merely procrastinating, whereas it should have taken strict action before the bank. This massive scam was carried out by manipulating the accounts of 18 government departments. Far from taking action, the government’s attitude, even in the Assembly, is so negative that it is willing to tell its lies but is unwilling to listen to the truth of the Opposition.”