Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has blamed the Congress-led UPA regime for public and private sector banks facing huge corporate bad loans. The loans were provided without following due diligence and as a result, defaulters fled the country and the banks had no money to lend, Sitharaman said while referring to fugitive business barons like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. Sitharaman had also held the portfolios of corporate affairs and finance (Minister of State) and was the Minister of State (Independent Charge), Commerce and Industry. Huge loans were provided by banks at the drop of a hat "when a phone call was made," by the powers that be, the minister said, addressing a BJP traders wing meet Tuesday. Since such loans were not paid back till date, the banks faced a crunch and could not lend for new businesses, she claimed. "Public and private sector banks are all facing difficulty due to this. Though policy allowed banks to provide loans, banks are not prepared to lend as they do not have money. Why this happened," she asked. -- PTI