Ready for discussion on bank scam: Ananth Kumar

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Tuesday that the government is ready to hold a discussion with the Opposition over the issue of PNB scam, in both Houses of the Parliament.

"The government is ready to hold a discussion on the questions the Opposition is raising about the bank in both the Houses. The opposition is invited to a structural debate and to stop ruckus they are creating inside and outside the Parliament," said Kumar.

The Budget Session of the Parliament restarted on Monday amidst uproar by the opposition over the recent Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, in which noted jewellery designer and businessman Nirav Modi syphoned-off the bank's money to the tune of whopping 1.77 billion dollars.

Accusing the Congress party-led Karnataka government of killing 24 workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, Kumar expressed confidence of winning the assembly elections in Karnataka, scheduled for later this year.

"In Tripura, nine of our workers were killed because of the Marxists. In Karnataka, Congress misgovernance killed 24 BJP workers. The public will give a befitting reply to this in the upcoming elections," he added.

Kumar, who belongs to Karnataka, also accused the state government under Siddaramaiah of insensitively splurging money even as large parts of the southern state reel from severe drought.

He said, "In the last four-and-a-half years, the Siddaramaiah government is spending money on useless things. This government has no sentiments for the public and doesn't care about drought in the state."

--ANI