Urban Mirror Correspondent
New Delhi, December 27: The Lok Gathbandhan Party (LGP) today criticised the NDA government for pressuring the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to spare its reserve for government-funded programmes in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The LGP said that never in the past such pressure was illogically brought on the RBI for such purpose.
The spokesman of the party said here on Thursday that the RBI decision to constitute a six-member committee headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan under the pressure of the NDA government to decide on its appropriate size of reserves should not hurt the interest of the federal bank as its reserves are for economic interest of the nation and not for serving political interest of the ruling party. The spokesman said the RBI has a massive Rs 9.59 lakh crore reserves and the NDA government wants the central bank to part with a third of that fund -an issue which along with easing of norms for weak banks and raising liquidity has brought the two at loggerheads recently which led to resignation of the RBI Governor Urjit Patel. The spokesman said the RBI reserves are guarantor for the economic and financial stability of the country and any efforts to dilute it for political purpose would only further weaken the economy. The spokesman said that NDA government’s assertion that it is not eyeing for RBI reserves cannot be trusted in the past record of tussle between the two.
The spokesman said that turf war between central government and RBI during the last few days has created a piquant situation and has also caused consternation in the market. The spokesman said trouble has been brewing between the government and the RBI over a host of issues including interest rates to non-performing assets, credit liquidity to non-bank finance companies (NBFCs), fasting increasing bad loans etc. the spokesman said and added the prevailing situation appeared to be deliberate on the part of the NDA government to pass the buck on the RBI for its failure.
The spokesman said the NDA government cannot escape the responsibility for the present messy situation in economy and financial sectors by such moves. The spokesman said huge accumulation of NPAs is the result of criminal nexus between banks, businessmen and politicians over the years in which NDA is equally responsible.
