The Assembly witnessed a rare display of camaraderie on Tuesday as the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) teamed up with the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) to lash out at the Central government for the restrictions imposed on cooperative banks following the demonetisation of high-value currency.
Moving a substantive motion, Minister for Cooperation A.C. Moideen said the RBI decision to curb the exchange and transaction of old currency notes in cooperative banks had virtually brought the entire cooperative sector in the State to a halt.
Pointing out that cooperative banks had mobilised deposits to the tune of Rs.1,27,000 crore, he said any move to weaken the sector would have serious social consequences.
UDF charge
Accusing the Centre of holding the cooperative banks hostage, UDF leader Oommen Chandy said the decision to demonetise high-value currency without proper preparations had led to chaos at a time when the spectre of drought was looming large over the country. He urged the State government to ensure the safety of deposits in cooperative banks. Alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre was misusing its mandate to reap political gains, V.S. Achuthanandan said the demonetisation had affected farmers, traders and fisherfolk across the country.
K.M. Mani said instead of imposing curbs, RBI could have appointed observers to monitor cooperative banks.
