New Delhi, Jan 3 (IANS): The Congress on Thursday attacked Arun Jaitley over increase in bank frauds and plunge in new investments, saying the Union Finance Minister is more concerned about defending the Rafale deal instead of running the economy.

Citing a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report revealing a 72 per cent rise in bank frauds in 2017-18 over the last year, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the "stoic silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue.

"While our Finance Minister is busy trying to defend the defenceless Rafale deal, fraudsters looted around Rs 41,167 crore from our banks in 2017-2018, a steep rise of 72 per cent over the previous year when the figure was Rs Rs 23,933 crore," Singhvi told the media citing the RBI report.

Singhvi also cited two others reports to target the Modi government over its economic policies.

"Another report states that investments in the October-December quarter fell to a 14-year-low, with new investments being 55 per cent lower than the year-ago period. According to the Finance Ministry data, the amount of Mudra loans that turned into NPAs almost doubled in the year to Rs 7,277 crore from the Rs 3,790 crore of NPAs recorded in 2016-17.

"While the economy is in dire straits, neither Modi nor his government has bothered to give any response. This is what happens when the Finance Minister of country acts as a 'defensive minister' for the government instead of focusing on the economy," said Singhvi.

Ridiculing Modi for campaigning in Punjab instead of facing questions over the Rafale deal in Parliament, Singhvi asserted the Congress will continue to raise the issue inside and outside Parliament until the Prime Minister responds.