Alleging that the government was shielding the wilful corporate loan defaulters of public sector banks (PSBs), the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) has declared that it will make the names of 7,000 wilful defaulters public on July 19.
Speaking at a media interaction in Ahmedabad, CH Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, expressed serious concerns about the ‘soft approach’ of the government towards big wilful defaulters.
“There are 7,000 such big wilful defaulters of PSBs. They collectively have defrauded the banks of ₹70,000 crore as of March 2016. These people should be brought out in public and the bank unions will take the lead and defame them,” said Venkatachalam.
“Rather than taking serious action against such wilful defaulters, the government is giving them concessions in the name of Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR),” he said, reiterating his demand for filing of criminal cases against such wilful defaulters.
The unions have also opposed plans to consolidate banks.
“In the name of banking reforms, this government is discouraging public sector banks, which have been at the forefront in implementing government schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana,” he said.
Bank unions, under the apex union United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) will continue with their strike on July 29.
“About 10 lakh employees across the country will join the strike, which is to raise our voice against the anti-people government policies on bank reforms,” added Venkatachalam.