The Congress and the BJP tried to score political points on Thursday over the Rs 11,400 crore PNB fraud which has rocked the banking sector and spooked the depositors of public sector banks.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, the Congress accused the Modi Government of facilitating the escape of Nirav Modi and his family members out of the country. On the other hand, the BJP sought to defend the Centre by claiming that the scam went back to 2011.

The Congress termed it the “independent India’s biggest bank fraud” and released several documents related to the alleged scam and also shared a picture of Nirav Modi

with the business delegation accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Davos at the World Economic Forum meet last month.

“Guide to looting India by Nirav Modi — 1. Hug PM Modi 2. Be seen with him in Davos. Use that clout to: A. Steal 12,000 crore B. Slip out of the country like Mallya, while the Government looks the other way,” Rahul tweeted.

Taking strong exception to the term ‘Chhota Modi’ used by the Congress to describe Nirav Modi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked the Congress to stop doing “photo politics”. He also said Nirav did not meet the PM at Davos but arrived on his own for CII group photo event.

“I wish to make it very clear, and this I can also convey on behalf of the Government, that those who sought to derail the ordinary banking system to help Nirav shall not be spared. This is regardless of the stature and status of the official concerned,” said the BJP leader.

The Congress questioned why the PM and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley are silent on this mega financial bungling and intensified their attack on the NDA Government stating that ‘loot and escape’ had become the hallmark of the Government recalling two other similar cases that of liquor baron Vijay Mallya and former IPL chief Lalit Modi and other businessmen who left the country after allegedly committing frauds worth crores.

Dubbing Nirav “Chota Modi two” and Lalit Modi “Chhota Modi one”, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surejewala asked whether the billionaire jewellery designer had a tip off that led him to leave the country. He also asked the PM who was protecting the jeweller.

Surjewala, along with party leaders Shaktisinh Gohil and Pawan Khera, released a copy of a complaint by a Bangalore resident Hari Prasad, seeking early action against Nirav and his business partner Mehul Choksi. Surjewala said the letter was acknowledged by the Prime Minister’s Office on July 26, 2016 and thereafter the PM was made aware of this entire fraud through the complaint.

“The entire system was bypassed. All regulatory mechanisms broke down. Everything escaped the eyes of auditors and investigators. ‘Risk management’ and ‘fraud detection ability’ came to naught. Yet, the Modi Government would have us believe that this entire fraud was being perpetrated by two employees. Has it become the norm for letting people run away with public money? Who is responsible,” Surjewala said.

The Congress demanded accountability, “fixation of responsibility” and recovery of the money. “If the PM knew of the matter as early as July 26, 2016, should he not be held accountable? Should the PM have permitted such a person to accompany him as part of a business delegation along with him to Davos. The responsibility lies more with the PM,” it said.

Defending the Centre, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a scathing attack on the Congress and said the fraud happened in the UPA tenure. “The allegations are coming out now. This is coming out as it is their (UPA’s) gift. We will definitely take action. This has not happened in (20)14,” she said.