Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for saying the list of wilful defaulters released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was not presented in Parliament because it contained “friends” of the ruling party.

In a series of tweets, Sitharaman said Rahul Gandhi and Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala have “attempted to mislead people in a brazen manner” on wilful defaulters, bad loans and write-offs. She further said that the Congress party has “resorted to sensationalising facts by taking them out of context.”

Clarifying on the write-offs, the minister, in a taunting tone, said that she wished Gandhi had consulted Dr Manmohan Singh before commenting on the matter.

Asserting that no loan has been waived, Sitharaman said: “Provisions are made for NPAs as per the four-year provisioning cycle laid down by the RBI. Upon full provisioning being done, banks write-off the fully provided NPA but continue to pursue recovery against the borrower.”

She said that those defaulters who do not repay despite having the capacity to pay, divert or siphon-off funds, or dispose of secured assets without bank’s permission are categorised as wilful defaulters. “They are those well- connected promoters who benefitted from UPA’s ‘Phone banking’.”

She also quoted former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan who had said that a large number of bad loans originated in the period 2006-2008.

Sitharaman also listed the cases of Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya and said that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is purduing these willful defaulters.

“Nirav Modi Case : Immovable and movable properties worth more than Rs 2387 Crore attached/seized.( Attachment Rs 1898 Crore and Seizure Rs 489.75 Crore) . This includes foreign attachments of Rs 961.47 Crore. Auction of luxury items for Rs 53.45 Crore. He is in prison in the UK,” Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet.

In another tweet, she said: “Mehul Choksi Case : Attachments of Rs 1936.95 Crore including foreign attachment of Rs 67.9 Crore. Seizure of Rs 597.75 Crore. Red Notice issued. Extradition Request sent to Antigua. Hearing for declaration of Mehul Choksi as Fugitive Offender is in progress.”

On the Vijay Mallya case, Sitharaman said that the total value at the time of attachment was Rs 8040 Crore and of seizure was Rs 1693 Crore. “Value of shares at the time of seizure was Rs 1693 Crore. Declared fugitive offender. On extradition request by GoI, UK High Court, has also ruled for extradition.”

Asserting that the Narendra Modi government is pursuing these wilful defaulters, Sitharaman said that 9967 recovery suits, 3515 FIRs, invoking Fugitive Amendment Act in cases are on now and added that the total value of attachment and seizures in the cases of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya is Rs 18,332.7 Crore.

Concluding a series of 13 tweets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Congress and Rahul Gandhi to “introspect why they fail to play a constructive role in cleaning up the system”.

“Neither while in power, nor while in the opposition has the Congress shown any commitment or inclination to stop corruption and cronyism,” she said in a strongly-worded tweet.

After the RBI on Tuesday released a list of 50 wilful defaulters accused of cheating Indian banks, for Congress chief Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Central government stating that the Centre was silent when he asked about these defaulters in the Parliament because the list contained the names of “BJP’s friends including Niran Modi and Mehul Choksi”.

Meanwhile, Union minister Prakash Javadekar also slammed Rahul Gandhi over his remarks stating that he was “taken aback by the Congress leader comment that the Modi government has waived off Rs 65,000 Cr.

Asserting that not a single penny has been waived, Javadekar said “writing off isn’t waiving off”. He added that Rahul Gandhi “must take tuition from Chidambaram” to understand the difference between writing off and waiving off.