Is Modi Govt throwing Chanda Kochhar to the wolves?

Contrary to media reports that Chanda Kochhar dropped out of the event on April 5 in which she along with nine other women were to be felicitated, it was Rashtrapati Bhavan which apparently indicated to the hosts that the President would stay away if Kochhar were present. It was then conveyed to the ICICI Bank MD that her presence was no longer welcome. The official explanation given was that Kochhar had herself expressed her inability to attend.

A FICCI spokesperson Sarita Rashmi had then said, “We don’t know the reason why she opted out, but her office called up to inform that she would not be joining in.”

While the sequence of events has been confirmed by sources within FICCI, it is also borne out by the hurried change made in the invitation card (see graphic, above). While the earlier invitation card carried the names and photographs of 10 iconic women, the new version of the card issued barely 48 hours before the event carried only nine of them. Chanda Kochhar’s name had gone missing.

Said an insider, “Had it been simply a case of Kochhar dropping out at the last minute because of pressing engagement, illness etc, there would have been no need to print a fresh card in the first place.”

People conversant with the protocol associated with Rashtrapati Bhavan agree. The President’s programme is fixed, they point out, several weeks in advance and the invitees’ list, the venue, the sequence at the function etc are carefully examined and vetted by multiple agencies. Even the invitation card is vetted by the President’s office. Printing the second invitation card was a telltale sign that there was something amiss.

The outwardly minor and innocuous move is significant because Chanda Kochhar is in the eye of a storm over loans sanctioned by the ICICI bank to the Videocon group, which allowed her husband a sweetheart deal, alleged a report in The Indian Express.

The advice given to the President to stay away from the event is interpreted as an indication that the Government wants to distance itself from the controversy. The buzz is that Government nominees on the board of the ICICI Bank and even major shareholders want Kochhar to step down in order to put the fire lit by the ‘scam’ out. It would have been embarrassing if Kochhar had to step down days after being felicitated by the President.