Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday took a swipe at the Centre as the Jan Dhan Yojana completed 10 years, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using schemes launched by the UPA government and "busy advertising" them.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched on this day in 2014, is a national mission encompassing an integrated approach to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country.
In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said, "Modi Government has made banks a tool for looting public money! Our three questions: Is it not true that more than 10 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been closed, out of which about 50% bank accounts belong to women?" There were deposits of Rs 12,779 crore in them till December 2023, he said.
Who is responsible for the closure of 20 per cent of the total Jan Dhan accounts, Kharge further asked.
"Is it not true that the average balance in Jan Dhan accounts in the last 9 years is less than Rs 5,000, i.e. only Rs 4,352? How can a poor person survive with this little money, amidst the BJP's back-breaking inflation?" the Congress chief said.
"Is it not true that by combining common accounts and Jan Dhan accounts, Modi government has looted at least Rs 43,500 crore from 2018 to 2024 only by charging extra ATM transactions, SMS charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance? (As per answers given in Parliament)," he said.
Today is the 10th anniversary of the renaming of the Congress-UPA's 'No frills accounts' scheme, under which bank accounts were opened for 24.3 crore poor people till March 2014, Kharge said.
Understand the reality of what the Modi government is trumpeting today, he said.
"In 2005, the Congress-UPA government directed banks to open 'No Frills Accounts'. In 2010, RBI asked banks to prepare and implement a Financial Inclusion Plan from 2010 to 2013," he said.
In 2011, the Congress-UPA government launched the major financial inclusion initiative 'swabhimaan', Kharge said.
In 2012, 'No Frills Accounts' got a government name – Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA), he said.
In 2013, banks were directed to extend the Financial Inclusion Plan till 2016 and it was renamed as Jan Dhan Yojana by the Modi government, Kharge said.
"In 2013 itself, the Congress-UPA launched the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme and linked it to AADHAAR to provide LPG subsidy in 291 districts. The BJP-ruled states, which were in the opposition at that time, opposed this 'Pahal' scheme. Modi ji had also opposed AADHAAR," he said.
"Today, using the same schemes, Modi ji is busy in advertising," Kharge said.