“During Congress’s time, banks were created; in Modi era, they are being sold”: Rahul Gandhi targets govt over IDBI Bank sale

Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Centre's proposed sale of a controlling stake in IDBI Bank, questioning why a profitable public sector lender is being privatised. Supporting the bank's employees, Gandhi alleged that the Modi government was selling institutions built during the Congress regime and warned that privatisation could weaken employees' service protections and affect reservation provisions.

In a post on X on Friday, Gandhi contrasted the Congress government's approach to public sector banking with that of the BJP-led government, accusing the Centre of putting the bank up for sale despite its profitability.

“During Congress's time, IDBI was established—to build the nation's industry. During Modi's time, first the bidding was seen, then the price was set. During Congress's time, banks were being created. During Modi's time, they are being sold,” Gandhi wrote.


“I stand with the employees of IDBI Bank,” he added.

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Rahul Gandhi questions sale of profitable IDBI Bank

In a separate letter addressed to IDBI Bank employees, Gandhi said he had raised concerns about the proposed privatisation in Parliament after a group of employees met him in March last year. He said they had questioned why the government was selling a bank they had helped make profitable.

Gandhi claimed that the government had not adequately explained the reasons for the proposed sale or how employees and depositors would be protected. He also referred to the proposed sale to Fairfax, a Canadian company.

Warning about the possible consequences of privatisation, Gandhi said reservation provisions for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) would no longer apply in the same manner once the bank came under private ownership.

He also argued that employees' existing service protections could be weakened further, with pension benefits and other employment-related concerns adding to the uncertainty.

“The Congress has always believed in a strong public sector working alongside the private sector. Public banks are not assets to be sold off, they are tools to build the nation,” Gandhi wrote in the letter.

IDBI Bank was reclassified as a private sector bank in 2019

IDBI Bank's proposed sale comes against the backdrop of an earlier change in its regulatory classification. According to information published on the bank's official website, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) categorised IDBI Bank as a private sector bank for regulatory purposes with effect from January 21, 2019. The reclassification followed the Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) acquisition of 51% of the bank's total paid-up equity share capital.

Centre approves Rs 52,878 crore IDBI Bank stake sale

The Union Cabinet approved a transaction worth Rs 52,878 crore (USD 5.56 billion) on October 14 for the sale of a 60.72% controlling stake in IDBI Bank to a subsidiary of Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings.

Under the proposed transaction, the Centre will divest its 30.48% stake in the bank, while the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will sell its 30.24% holding. After the transaction, the government's stake is expected to fall to 15%, while LIC's shareholding will reduce to 19%.

The proposed sale has drawn concerns from bank employees, particularly over the implications for reservation provisions, service conditions and pension benefits.

Government clarifies IDBI Bank disinvestment bidding process

Amid questions surrounding the proposed privatisation, the Finance Ministry on Friday clarified that the reserve price for IDBI Bank's strategic disinvestment was neither reduced nor increased during the second round of bidding.

According to a ministry release, the revised bidding process helped increase the discovered bid price by Rs 3,917 crore. The ministry said the procedure for the second, or best-offer, round was decided by the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD).

The group had been authorised by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to address procedural issues and make necessary deviations to facilitate the effective implementation of strategic transactions.

The ministry added that the initial bidding round was conducted during 2025-26 under the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management's (DIPAM) indicative guidelines, which allow flexibility in complex strategic disinvestment processes.

The clarification comes as the proposed sale continues to face scrutiny, with Gandhi and IDBI Bank employees raising questions about the rationale for privatising the lender and the safeguards available to its workforce.