Rahul Gandhi, Nirmala Sitharaman Clash on X Over IDBI Bank Stake Sale

Rahul Gandhi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman traded barbs on social media over the government's decision to sell its stake in IDBI Bank, turning a corporate deal into the latest front in their political feud. Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, sided with bank employees who are protesting the move.

Gandhi had written to what he called the 'IDBI bank family' a day earlier. On X, he argued that the Congress-led government set up IDBI to fund India's industrial growth, while the current government has moved from bidding to pricing the stake sale. He also asked why a bank that made a profit of about Rs 9,000 crore last year needed to be sold at all.

Sitharaman hit back, accusing the Congress of treating public banks and financial institutions as personal tools. She said the previous government pushed IDBI to lend to business groups with close political ties, including Videocon, Winsome Diamond, ABG Shipyard and Kingfisher. Many of those loans soured, she said, and the losses had to be acknowledged.

The finance minister said the Modi government stepped in with a Rs 25,000 crore recapitalisation to stabilise the lender. She argued that IDBI is now positioned for growth and that the 'strategic restructuring' followed due process, rejecting reports that official rules were ignored. She also said the sale is expected to bring in more than Rs 52,000 crore for the Centre and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

Why it matters: the stake sale affects a public lender, the jobs of its staff, and the money the government expects to raise. IDBI Bank unions have called a strike on November 2 and 3 to oppose the move. Gandhi said he stands with employees and supports their legitimate demands, while the government maintains the decision is sound and transparent. Gandhi also claimed the buyer is Fairfax, a Canadian company, though the government has not disputed that point in the posts reported so far.

For readers, the core questions are simple: Why sell a profitable bank, who gains, and what happens to staff and customers next? Both sides have made their case in public, and the strike will be the first real test of how the protest plays out on the ground.

Read the original report at Times of India.

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