Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 7 (UNI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged banks to withdraw the minimum balance conditions imposed on savings bank accounts and demanded to end debiting service charges as both the practices are 'unjustifiable'.
Stating that, the figures coming out reveals that about Rs 11,500 crore were debited from common customers on account of service charges, the Chief Minister alleged that loan accounts of big defaulters, estimated worth Rs 10 lakh crore, were classified as NPA's and concessions were continuously given to them while squeezing money from the accounts of common people and those even below that level.
Out of the total NPA's of banks estimated over Rs ten lakh crores, large-scale debtors with above five crore financial obligations account for 88 per cent of the total liabilities reported, Mr Vijayan said.
The accounts held by the large-scale debtors are not savings bank accounts. The present practice followed by banks convey a message that common customers should bear the huge loss by paying from their small scale savings, the Chief Minister alleged.
"Excluding Jan dhan and pension accounts, the banks are squeezing money from all other accounts held by the common customers. They are forced to open bank accounts in the name of subsidy, and then banks siphon off money from these accounts. This is inhuman behaviour," Mr Vijayan said.
"Earlier, private banks were only following this practice but now PSU banks are also on the same path. This is 'anti-people' policy, the policy of exploiting everyone other than the rich. This should be withdrawn," the Chief Minister said in a statement.
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