With the winter session in effect, the ruling BJP and the Congress are again at odds not only over daily business routines but also due to remarks made by leaders of the respective parties. While the opposition agreed to a smooth conduct of business in Parliament after initial washouts, BJP MP Sambit Patra’s statement again raised the temperature in the lower house. 

Speaking on the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, the BJP first-time MP from Puri claimed that the Indira Gandhi-SBI episode was the most ‘mysterious and thrilling banking fraud’ of 1971. Para spoke about systemic corruption in the banking industry and also the need to plug the loopholes. When he raked up one of the most sensational banking fraud cases in history, the one that happened during the Indira Gandhi regime, it led to a huge uproar and elicited strong protest from Congress members.

“On May 24, 1971, a phone call was made to the Parliamentary branch of the State Bank of India branch. Mr Ved Prakash Malhotra, the bank manager, picked up the phone call and was shocked to hear the voice on the other side. It was the voice of Indira Gandhi. She directed the bank manager to give Rs 60 lakh to Nagarwala,” Patra pointed out.

Recalling the Nagarwala scandal of 1971, the BJP MP said that it was one of the most mysterious and thrilling stories of banking fraud cases, that happened during the Indira Gandhi regime.

The thrilling and mysterious story of banking fraud during Indira Gandhi’s government!

On May 24, 1971, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, allegedly called the Parliamentary Branch Manager of SBI, instructing the immediate release of Rs. 60 lakhs to Nagarwala.

A committee… pic.twitter.com/OANzYkhaUC

— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) December 3, 2024

Patra’s direct charge at the then Congress PM left the grand old party see red. KC Venugopal stood in protest and vociferously countered the charges by stating that her strong governance earned her the title of ‘Maa Durga’ by the then BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was only at the intervention of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla that the Congress members relented and toned down their vociferous protest.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman too came forward in Patra’s defence and disputed the claims that Vajpayee described the then PM as ‘Durga avatar’.

The Nagarwala scandal of 1971 is purportedly one of the biggest financial scandals of Indira’s time and the charges were colossal enough to put the then Congress govt’s fate in jeopardy. A couple of books have also mentioned a ‘very secret call’ to the SBI cashier from someone impersonating Indira Gandhi and directing the manager to hand over Rs 60 lakh to Rustam Sohrab Nagarwala, a retired Army captain.