Blame game over PNB fraud would take us nowhere, says Venkaiah Naidu

The issue is not 'this regime or that regime', the issue is that of people losing confidence in the banking system, Naidu said

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said, the government and the opposition should stop playing blame game over major issues such as the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case and have a constructive discussion to find where the fault lies.

"There is no meaning in finding faults...it happened during their tenure, not ours. And then they would say, it happened in your tenure," the Vice President said, at the second day of CREDAI Conclave 2018, adding that, there is no benefit of such blame games.

The issue is not "this regime or that regime", the issue is that of people losing confidence in the banking system, he said.

He further said: "I hope that the parliament functions and there is a meaningful, constructive debate, (to find out) where does the fault lies."

"The irony is, members want discussion, government wants discussion, the chair wants discussion, but discussion is not taking place," he said, pointing to the ongoing disruption in the proceedings of the parliament over the Rs 135.40-billion PNB fraud case.

For avoiding such instances in the future, the Vice President advised organisations to maintain discipline.

"The organisations must have a code of conduct... Whoever is defaulting the norms, should be kept away," he said.

Due to such instances of fraud and defaulting, he said the banking sector in the country is being questioned.

"Is there a structural failure or a system failure? Is there a collusion of people at different levels? If it is so, then why no action is taken?" the Vice President questioned.

Further speaking on the real estate sector, he said: "After a slowdown in the market, the realty sector is showing signs of revival which is good for the economy."

The RERA and GST have been introduced to strengthened the market by increasing transparency and creating confidence among customers.

However, raising concern over high prices of land, Naidu said: "The prices of land in Vijaywada, Hyderabad... are equivalent to prices in New york and Washington, how can anybody justify (that)?"

The cost of unit is going up not because of the construction, but because of the land, and land is held by middlemen, he said, adding that, there needs to be a correction in prices of land.

Previously, Naidu had served as the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Urban Development during 2014-2017.