Congress President Rahul Gandhi upped the ante of his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP over the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case on Saturday, 17 February.

Taking a dig at ‘Pariksha pe Charcha’, Gandhi said that the PM should tell the nation on the government’s plans to secure the banking system.

“Instead of spending an hour and a half explaining to little kids how to take exams, he should explain to the people of India what is going to be done to Nirav Modi and what is he going to do to make sure that the banking system is safe,” Gandhi said.

He alleged that the Modi government “constantly refuses to accept responsibility” in the over Rs 11,000 crore scam that has rocked the nation and raised a series of questions on India’s banking system, safety of the taxpayer’s money and the loopholes which allow alleged accused such as Nirav Modi to leave the country.

“friends and cronies” are stealing money from the banks.

“The Prime Minister through his actions has destroyed the financial system of this country. He has taken money from people’s pockets and put it into the banking sector. And now his friends and cronies are stealing it from the banking sector,” he said.

Exhorting the PM to “speak on” the matter, Gandhi alleged that “90 per cent of the transactions (in the scam) happened under the NDA government”.

“This is a 22,000 crore scam,” he claimed. The PNB has said that the amount of the scam might be higher but has not disclosed the exact figure.@INCIndia

Earlier today, Congress leader Kapil Sibal alleged that both PM Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were “aware that the country was being looted”.

“Why is PM Modi refusing to disclose who travels with him on his official trips? Is this the kind of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ PM Modi talks about,” asked Sibal.

“You will get to know that banks’ loans will be more and assets less. Will PM Modi order an inquiry on the PNB scam? These are all scams in the waiting,” he added.

Read More: Modi, Jaitley knew country was being looted: Congress

Attacking the BJP, Sibal said: “You have institutionalised crony capitalism. They buy assets with our money and when they become defaulters, they flee the country.”

On Saturday, the CBI arrested three PNB officials in connection with the scam. The three have been sent to police custody till 3 March.