Maya slams PM over good governance promise

LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam involving diamond jeweller Nirav Modi. “The scam raises question over the prime minister’s assurance to the people ‘na khaoonga, na khane doonga’ (neither will I indulge in corruption nor permit other to embezzle public money),”she said.

“A Rs 20,000 crore bank scam took place while the government was caught napping. What kind of a public welfare government is this?,” Mayawati said in a statement. Lashing out at the BJP, she said all talks about bringing black money stashed abroad and depositing Rs 15 lakh each in the accounts of the poor was empty rhetoric. She sought to know what happened to the prime minister’s “na khaoonga, na khane doonga (Won’t indulge in graft, won’t let anyone do it as well)” assurance.

“Was the hard earned money of poor and hard-working people deposited in the nationalised banks under Jan Dhan Yojana for committing fraud by favourite industrialists and businessmen,” the former CM asked. Was bringing back ‘achche din’ (good days) mere rhetoric, she asked. The Modi government must accept its responsibility in the mega scam instead of talking big, Mayawati said. She added strict action against the guilty was needed so that people could repose their faith in the banking system. “Despite claims of strengthening of the economy, employment has not been made available and this makes it clear that the government machinery under PM Modi has collapsed,” she alleged.

HTC/AGENCIES