The Congress on Monday (November 2, 2026) demanded an immediate halt to the proposed sale of IDBI Bank to Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the transaction, alleging that the government had manipulated the bank’s valuation.
Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the disinvestment process was riddled with irregularities and lacked transparency. Mr. Mr.
The Congress leader also questioned the revision of the bank’s valuation from ₹94.42 to ₹75 a share after the bids had been opened. He said the government had initially fixed the valuation at ₹94.42 a share before inviting bids, but subsequently revised it downwards. The government was now claiming to have secured a good deal by selling the bank at ₹81 a share, he said, demanding disclosure of both valuation reports and the identity of the second bidder. Gohil invoked an assurance given by the then Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in Parliament in August 2003 that the government’s stake in IDBI Bank would not be reduced below 51%. The Congress also raised concerns over the valuation of IDBI Bank’s real estate assets, including properties in Mumbai and 50 acres of land in Hyderabad’s Cyber City.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh separately described the transaction as a “major scam” by the Narendra Modi government and demanded that both valuation reports be made public. A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had also favoured retaining the government’s majority stake, he said. Gohil said the implications of the loss of public sector status for reservation-based employment opportunities also needed to be examined.
“Prem Watsa is a very close to Modi ji and had showered praise on him during the 2017 Vibrant Gujarat Summit,” the Congress leader said.
