Maharashtra CM Fadnavis assures PMC customers, says 'will speak to PM'

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis on Friday gave assurance to the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) account holders amid the PMC Bank scam. CM Fadnavis said that the account holders will get their money and the government will help them. He also mentioned that he will speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this ongoing issue on October 13. CM Fadnavis was addressing an election campaign in Thane.

Speaking to the PMC account holders, CM said, "Investigation is going on. All of their properties have been attached. I haven't made any statement on this yet as the Mode of Conduct (MCC) is in place. I assure you that once the polls are done on October 21, we will follow this up. PM Modi is going to be with us on October 13. I have a full note ready with me, I am going to brief him on the same. It is because of the MCC, I won't be briefing the PM publicly. I won't let injustice happen to you under any circumstances. Don't worry. If your money is not safe for now, we will bring it back for sure."

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Earlier on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured action in the PMC bank fraud case by speaking, the Finance Minister also stated that she was not in a position to commit on timeline. Addressing a press brief, the Finance Minister stated that it is the RBI that regulates cooperative banks, not the government. 

She said, "As to when exactly the money will be given, its not for me to take a call because there is somebody who is doing the resolution, appointed by the RBI and therefore that is a process-driven exercise, which only the regulator and resolution professional can take between themselves."

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What is the scam?

The police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the top officials of the PMC Bank and the promoters of the Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL). According to the prosecution, the bank continued giving loans to the debt-ridden HDIL from 2008 to 2019 despite the previous loans not being repaid. This caused a loss of nearly Rs. 4,355 crore. Several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as criminal breach of trust, cheating, and forgery have been invoked against the accused. 

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Impact on the customers  

The customers of the PMC Bank have been severely affected in the process. While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the monthly withdrawal limit per customer to Rs. 25,000 per month after public pressure, it has failed to pacify the people. Hundreds of aggrieved people have staged protests for the last 18 days. Their principal demands are the return of their hard-earned money stuck in the banks and the prosecution of the culprits of the scam. 

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