Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged a Twitter user on Monday to not write of “such extreme things” after the latter tweeted that “people are bound to consume poison” in the aftermath of the restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India on the crisis-hit Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank).
The RBI had on September 23 imposed regulatory restrictions on the PMC Bank for six months over alleged financial irregularities. The removal limit for account owners was originally kept at Rs 1,000 per each client for six months, which was next raised to Rs 10,000. The regulator also prevented the cooperative from continuing fresh loans or taking deposits. The limitations had triggered objections by depositors and account owners of the cooperative bank.
To address such concerns, Sitharaman on Monday tweeted a helpline number.
Replying to the tweet, a Twitter user named Rakesh Bhat, who identifies himself as a social activist, demanded a quick resolution, saying “people are bound to consume poison and die”.
In reply, the finance minister sought to calm Bhat down and appeal against posting “extreme” messages. She further clarified that multi-state cooperative institutions do not come under the Ministry of Finance even though they are called banks.
Defined as a multi-state collaborative investment entity organized in 1984 from a modest room in Mumbai, the PMC Bank has grown to 137 branches in Maharashtra (103), Delhi (6), Karnataka (15), Goa (6), Gujarat (5) and Madhya Pradesh (2).
As per the RBI orders, the PMC Bank is debarred for six months from granting or renewing any loans and advances, making any investments, incurring any liability, including borrower of stocks or accept current deposits, etc., without preceding written permission from the RBI.
As per the PMC Bank’s latest annual report, it has deposits of over Rs 11,617 crore and loans/outstandings of Rs 8,383 crore.
