Sitharaman hits back at Rahul, says UPA government nationalised corruption

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday that the UPA government had “nationalised corruption” and “privatised taxpayers’ money.” This was in response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments earlier in the day that the Centre was “privatising profit and nationalising loss”.

In a tweet supporting the strike by the public sector bank (PSB) employees against privatisation, Mr. Gandhi said: “GOI is privatising profit & nationalising loss. Selling PSBs to Modicronies gravely compromises India’s financial security. I stand in solidarity with the striking bank employees.” When asked to comment on Mr. Gandhi’s tweet at a briefing on Cabinet decisions, Ms. Sitharaman said, “Rahul Gandhi has probably outsourced his comments to a very hardcore communist.” The comments, which she termed “two-liners”, did not help the situation and Mr. Gandhi should have engaged in a serious discussion instead, she said.