Now Reading: Sitharaman hits back at Akhilesh over IDBI Bank sale jibe
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Sitharaman hits back at Akhilesh over IDBI Bank sale jibe
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, 14 October, attacked Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for his 'season end sale' jibe over the IDBI Bank stake sale, accusing him of shedding 'crocodile tears' over banks the UPA government had 'ruined'.
Yadav had said after the Union Cabinet approved the sale that the BJP government, seeing its shop about to shut down, planned to sell everything off. Sitharaman responded on X that the UPA, which Yadav's party supported from 2004, left banks in a pathetic condition through 'phone banking' and 'crony capitalism', and that IDBI Bank had extended loans still difficult to recover.
She said the NDA government under Narendra Modi revived the banking system through transparent policies and capital infusion. The Cabinet approved selling a 60.72 per cent stake for Rs 52,878 crore to Fairfax of Canada, comprising 30.48 per cent from the government and 30.24 per cent from LIC.
The stake transfer will be at Rs 81 per share. The bank had come under RBI's Prompt Corrective Action due to heavy NPAs, in January 2019, LIC completed acquiring a 51 per cent controlling stake for approximately Rs 21,624 crore.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The three outlets uniformly report Sitharaman's retort and her charges against the UPA, with The Hindu BusinessLine adding the sale details, including the Rs 52,878 crore figure and Fairfax's winning bid. Times of India and NDTV Profit focus on the political exchange, leading with the finance minister's attack and quoting Yadav's 'season end sale' barb. The government-critical framing in Yadav's remark, that the BJP is selling everything before exiting, is presented as a quote rather than adopted, while Sitharaman's defence is given the final word in each account. The BusinessLine piece balances the political row with the transaction specifics, ending on the LIC acquisition timeline. Coverage is largely neutral, though the emphasis on Sitharaman's 'crocodile tears' and revival claims favours the official narrative. The next concrete item is the stake transfer to Fairfax at Rs 81 per share.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): ndtvprofit.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
