Congress questions transparency in Modi government deals amid IDBI sale row
Jairam Ramesh alleges a potential conflict of interest regarding the sale of a 60.72 per cent stake in IDBI Bank.
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Saturday raised questions regarding transparency and conflicts of interest concerning the sale of IDBI Bank. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked why such concerns emerge with every major government deal under the Modi administration.
The government approved the sale of a 60.72 per cent stake in IDBI Bank to Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings on October 14. The deal is valued at approximately Rs 53,000 crore ($5.5 billion).
Ramesh cited a Businessworld investigation alleging a conflict of interest involving Gurumoorthy Mahalingam. He stated that Mahalingam, an independent director at LIC and a member of its Investment Committee, also served on the boards of Thomas Cook India, which is controlled by Fairfax, for seven months. During that period, LIC began selling its 30.24 per cent stake in IDBI while Fairfax was a bidder.
Ramesh questioned the justification for selling the institution, which recorded a profit of nearly Rs 10,000 crore in the last financial year. He noted that IDBI was established on July 1, 1964, and helped create institutions like SIDBI, EXIM Bank, NSE, SEBI, and NSDL.
On Friday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also questioned the sale of the profitable bank. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman responded by accusing him of spreading lies and asserting that all due process was followed.