All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Dasoju Sravan demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao immediately abolish online loan apps which have led to atrocities, unbearable harassment and illegal practices, even driving many innocent people to suicides.
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In an open letter addressed to the Chief Minister on Wednesday, Mr. Sravan urged to set up a Special Task Force to crackdown on all the online loan apps and ensure that they are completely shut down. He urged the government to ensure that only those online loan apps, which have a valid NBFC registration and RBI approval, are hosted on Google PlayStore, Apple Store and other App hosting platforms.
“Illegal online loan apps charge interests from 30 to even an unbelievable 200 percent and collect more than double and triple amounts in many cases, citing various reasons. As most of these apps are illegal and not registered, they resort to immoral practices and fleece people. They resort to dirty tactics for recollection. They are morphing the pictures of women who availed loans and posting their nude pics on social media, sharing the pictures and details of borrowers with their contacts to shame them. Recovery agents, who are mostly rowdy sheeters, goondas are attacking the residences of borrowers. Due to the harassment of online apps, several people have committed suicides. These online apps have been operating as mafia organisations rather than as fintech companies,” pointed out Dr. Dasoju Sravan in his letter.
The Congress leader demanded that the government bring in a policy to ensure that public and private sector banks mandatorily give loans to small, medium, micro enterprises, middle class salaried professionals, needy from lower income groups like roadside vendors, hawkers, street vendors, and new entrepreneurs to save them from the clutches of unscrupulous online loan apps and money lenders.