New Delhi, Feb 27 (NIE): BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha has mocked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for blaming auditors and regulators for the 11,400-crore fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB), saying “Thank God they spared the peon”.

“Our learned people, after blaming everyone from Nehru regime to Congress misrule, have said that Auditors are to blame for PNB scam..thank God they spared the peon,” said Sinha in a tweet. His remark was an obvious reference to a recent statement by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who blamed the multiple layers of auditing system which “chose to either look the other way or do a casual job” for the fraud.

“The moot question is..as the actual owners of PNB, what was the Govt. doing for at least 4 of those 6 years,” said Sinha referring to the irregularities that began in 2011 when the Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre.

“Do we have any answers Sir. With due respect, as they say taali kaptaan ko to gaali bhi kaptaan ko,” he tweeted. He also wrote an Urdu couplet to underscore his point. “Tu idhar udhar ki na baat kar ye bata ki qafila kyun luta mujhe rahzanon se gila nahin teri rahbari ka saval hai (Do not beat about the bush, tell me why the robbery took place. I have do not have much a of complaint against the robbers, but the credibility of your leadership is at stake).”

Jaitley, speaking at the Global Business Summit organised by Economic Times on Saturday, held regulators and auditors responsible for the multicrore PNB fraud and said there is a need to tighten laws to punish fraudsters.

“Regulators have a very important function. They ultimately decide the rules of the game and have to have a third-eye which is to be perpetually be open. But unfortunately in the Indian system, we politicians are accountable, the regulators are not.”

He added, “The law would be tightened further, if necessary, in order to find out where they (fraudsters) are and what is the extreme action that law permits against such delinquent persons.”