Congress targets PM Modi over rising bank-fraud cases

    New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over rising bank-fraud cases in the last 11 years, saying "fraud and fakery" runs in the veins of his government.
    "In the 11 years of the Modi government, there have been bank frauds worth Rs 6,36,992 crore, which is an increase of 416 per cent. Even after demonetisation, the number of fake Rs 500 notes increased by 291 per cent in the last six years. This year it is the highest," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
    Taking a dig at Modi for his remarks that "sindoor" runs in his veins, the Congress chief said, "Modiji, we do not know what is in your veins, but it is certain that your government has fraud and fakery in its veins!"
    At a rally in Rajasthan recently, the prime minister had said, "Sindoor runs in my veins," while slamming Pakistan for the Pahalgam terror attack.
    Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Demonetisation, announced grandly by the PM on the night of November 8, 2016, was the first big Modi-made shock to the economy -- from which it never fully recovered."
    "The 2,000 rupee denomination notes were introduced in November 2016. But as suddenly as they were introduced, the announcement to remove them from circulation was made abruptly on September 30, 2023. By now 98.24 per cent of these notes have been returned to the RBI. What a wasteful exercise," Ramesh said in a post on X.
    "Meanwhile, fake 500 rupee notes increased 37 per cent in 2024/25. Counterfeiting was supposed to have been eliminated remember?" the former Union minister said while taking a dig over the note-ban exercise.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)