Congress is the main culprit of loan defaulter cases in India: Jaitley

Lucknow: In an attempt to give an apt reply to the allegations of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi regarding the Vijay Mallya case, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, on Tuesday, stated that the banks of the country had not given relaxation to any businessman in the amount they had to pay against the loan taken.

The Finance Minister alleged that the main culprit behind these loan defaulter cases is the Congress, who during its governance, gave huge amount of money to these businessmen and failed to recover the amount afterwards.

"Those who are raising finger at the BJP should know that our government have never provided any loan to big businessmen. The amount that these entrepreneurs have to pay is the interest on the loans given to them under Congress's rule," said Jaitley while addressing media in Lucknow.

Jaitley on UP assembly elections:

• Our major competition in the first phase was with the Bahujan Samaj Party.
• We are assured of getting more than 50 seats in the phase.
• Those who have always supported communal politics and focused on their vote banks have joined hands to form an alliance.
• I am assured that the UPiites will vote in favour of the BJP in the upcoming phases too.
• The state also wants a clean corruption free government and they will vote out the 'Tried, Tested and Failed' parties in these elections.
• Uttar Pradesh is the biggest state in the country and development of the state and its people is the first most priority.
• If the BJP forms a government here the Centre and state government will work together to develop the state.
• Our manifesto focuses on encouraging small and medium enterprises of the state.

Finance Minister on Budget 2017:

• Our budget was focused on relieving the country from the continuous increase in prices.
• We did not touch the indirect taxes in our budget and ended the practice of increasing prices in every budget.
• Demonetisation and GST will have a long term impact on Indian financial structure.
• Our first priority is to spend on rural population of the country.

What else he said?

• Akhilesh has realised that his party will not be able to retain power in UP.
• SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav has humiliated his brother Shivpal Yadav to handover the party leadership to his son Akhilesh
• SP-Congress manifesto was a complete copy of erstwhile BSP government.
• There are law and order crises in Uttar Pradesh.