PM Modi tears into Congress for 'spreading lies' on LIC, PSUs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday came down heavily on the Congress in the Rajya Sabha for “spreading lies and fake information” about LIC, saying that “the opposition spread rumours about LIC, but today its shares are trading at record high price". The Prime Minister said the “Congress made silly, baseless and negative statements about LIC and other PSUs”, adding, “It is the Congress which destroyed the PSUs instead." “It is the old habit of the Congress to misrepresent facts and create confusion,” said Modi while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Hitting out at the Congress, the Prime Minister said that public sector undertaking (PSU) shares are giving good returns now.

People's confidence is improving in PSU shares, the Prime Minister said, as he shared some key facts and inputs in the Upper House to buttress his views that LIC and HAL are making progress in what contradicts the claims of the opposition that these PSUs are in bad shape. Modi's candid reply assumes significance in the light of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations last year that the LIC was “forced to make investments to save the Adani Group, putting people's life savings in danger”.

The Adani Group had then outright dismissed the allegations as baseless. Congress' “fake” campaign on this issue was seen as the grand old party's attempt of fear-mongering about LIC investments. Now, the PM has made it clear that LIC is soaring high in what comes as a strong rebuttal of Congress' allegations. Similarly, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi had run a campaign against Modi, accusing him of “weakening” HAL to help his “suit-boot” friend. The Congress was alleging that the government favoured an industrialist friend over HAL in the Rafale jet deal.

The prime Minister's reply in the Rajya Sabha exposed the Congress' “fake campaign” and "blatant lies" on the issue of PSUs being weakened by the government. “I was born in an Independent India and my dreams are independent. Congress said we sold PSUs and destroyed them. I want to ask them, who destroyed BSNL and MTNL? Recall the state of Hindustan Aeronautics under Congress. They destroyed HAL and Air India. Congress and UPA cannot run away from their failures,” the PM said. He further explained how HAL is now showing record revenue generation and has become Asia's largest helicopter manufacturing factory.