Congress asks FM to come clean on UBI's bulk order of Ex-CEA's book

The Congress on Tuesday asked Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to "come clean" on the issue of the Union Bank of India placing an order for two lakh copies of former chief economic advisor Krishnamurthy V Subramanian's book 'India@100:Envisioning Tomorrow's Economic Powerhouse' at a whopping cost of ₹7.25 crore.

Alleging a "conflict of interest" in the incident, the Opposition party alleged the government has been allowing Subramanian's many questionable actions due to his all-out support to the "flawed economic policy" and claimed his service as India's nominee executive director at the IMF was prematurely terminated because of this "embarrassing" book deal.

After ET reported the Union Bank of India's bulk order of former CEA's book, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate raised the matter at a press conference and asked whether it was not true that the Union Bank of India obtained prior approval from its board of directors or the Department of Financial Services for spending on Subramanian's book. "Has finance ministry evaluated whether this expenditure adheres to the fiduciary responsibilities of a public sector bank? Has the finance ministry investigated whether the transaction constitutes a conflict of interest, given Krishnamurthy Subramanian's previous role as CEA and his proximity to key government figures? Further, it is alleged that the MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, Ms Manimekhalai, who is due for an extension in June 2025, has facilitated the royalty payments from this purchase as an indirect bribe to lobby for her extension...How does the ministry address these allegations...? Will finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman come clean on this transaction?" she asked.