BJP City President D. Umamaheswara Raju and State executive members Ch. Kumara Swamy, V. Srimannarayana and Ch. Naresh have demanded that the Government take urgent steps to put an end to the illegal call money business that has been flourishing in Vijayawada city.
They stated in a press release that the call money lenders had ruined hundreds of families through their unscrupulous activity but the Government and the law enforcing agencies concerned failed to detect the scandal.
The BJP leaders opined that the financial problems of small business people would be solved to a large extent if the MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) scheme was implemented properly.
LEGAL POSITION:
Meanwhile, senior advocate Naraharisetti Srihari said the blatant violation of Moneylenders Act and Pawnbrokers Act by organizers of the call money racket allegedly with the tacit support of some government officials and police officers was to be dealt with sternly.
He told The Hindu that the money lenders should have licenses to transact their business and they were not supposed to collect interest in excess of principal amounts but it has been happening for a long time as the police and others concerned shut their eyes to the scandal.
“Call money lenders have to make security deposits on sums lent by them and comply with other regulations of the Reserve Bank of India and the relevant laws of states but all of them have been flouted with ease”, Mr. Srihari said, suggesting that smooth delivery of institutional credit by banks would curb the menace of private money lenders.
