New Delhi. On the occasion of completion of 10 years of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed that the financial inclusion scheme during the time of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was renamed as ‘Jan Dhan’ and today is its anniversary.
He also asked whether it is not true that more than 10 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been closed, out of which nearly 50 percent bank accounts belonged to women? Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Jan Dhan Yojana on August 28, 2014, a few months after the start of his first term.
Kharge posted on ‘X’, “Is it not true that more than 10 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts have been closed, out of which about 50 percent bank accounts were of women? There was a deposit of Rs 12,779 crore in these till December 2023. Who is responsible for the closure of 20 percent of the total Jan Dhan accounts? He said, “Is it not true that in the last 9 years the average balance in Jan Dhan accounts is less than Rs 5000 i.e. only Rs 4,352? With this little money, amid the BJP’s backbreaking inflation, how can a poor person live his life?
The Congress president questioned whether it was not true that by merging common accounts and Jan Dhan accounts, the Modi government has “looted” at least Rs 43,500 crore from 2018 to 2024 by charging extra for non-maintenance of minimum balance, ATM transactions and SMS charges? He claimed that during the Congress-UPA government, bank accounts were opened for 24.3 crore poor people till March 2014 and today is the 10th anniversary of its renaming.
Kharge said, “Understand the reality of what the Modi government is trumpeting today. In 2005, the Congress-UPA government directed banks to open “no frills accounts” (accounts which do not have a minimum balance requirement). In 2010, the Reserve Bank asked banks to prepare and implement a financial inclusion plan from 2010 to 2013. In 2011, the Congress-UPA government launched the ‘Swabhimaan’ scheme.” According to him, in the year 2012, the ‘no frills account’ was renamed as ‘Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account’ (BSBDA).
Kharge said, “In 2013, banks were instructed to extend the financial inclusion scheme till 2016. The Modi government renamed it as ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’. He alleged that Prime Minister Modi is engaged in “advertisement” by using the schemes of the Congress-led government.