Raipur: Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur on Monday claimed that several revelations are due in the Yes Bank crisis and said measures were being taken to ensure the safety of depositors' money and save the private lender.
Thakur, who reached Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on Monday afternoon, told the media that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are probing the matter and due action would be taken against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor. A look out notice has been issued against Kapoor to curb his foreign trips.
Much more is in the store in this case, Thakur said, adding that they have sought details of the matter from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The RBI had, on Thursday, imposed a moratorium for 30 days on the capital-starved Yes Bank, capping withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account, and superseded its board with immediate effect. Kapoor was arrested by ED officials on Sunday.
"The SBI has also started it process. We have taken all steps to save the bank and resolve problems of depositors," he said.
As per the RBI's draft reconstruction scheme, State Bank of India is expected to pick up to 49 per cent stake in Yes Bank under a government-approved bailout plan.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, Thakur said, "A few people are creating an atmosphere of fear and speaking lies (on the issue) for politics, and by doing this, they are causing harm to the country and its people."
“We have run an honest government in the last six years and since day one, we have made it clear that corruption would be reined in by the Modi government," Thakur said.
"We have acted in the past with stringent action against those who have fled with the public’s hard earned money and will continue doing so,” affirmed Thakur.
Meanwhile, the union minister came down heavily on Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the recent IT raids in Chhattisgarh, claiming people should know that IT department acts on its own accord and no one including ministers concerned have any update on these raids.
Accusing the Centre of political vendetta targeting mostly those close to Baghel, the Congress state unit had protested on the streets and even staged a gherao of the local IT office in Raipur a few days ago.
“Hundreds of crores of tax evasion have come to the fore, so the people shielding these tax evaders should also come to the front,” Thakur said, in a veiled attack on Congress government.
Thakur said questioning IT raids raises a question mark as IT evasion falls under category of unlawful acts.
CM House Deputy Secretary Saumya Chaurasia, IAS officer Anil Tuteja, former Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand, Raipur mayor Ejaz Dhebar and several leading businessmen considered close to Congress were targeted by the IT dept in the state wide action carried out recently.
Asked about how the government planned to curb imports from China, he said import duty had been hiked in the 2020-21 budget.
He said meetings were being held to study the impact on Chinese imports after the coronavirus outbreak there. On a question on the reported confrontation between Chhattisgarh and the Centre on sharing the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Thakur said "in a federal structural, cooperative federalism and competitive federalism run together".
"Every state tries to attract more investment for its growth. The Centre has been allocating GST collection share to states. If there are pending cases, then the amount will be sanctioned in two installments as we have already announced," he added.
With PTI inputs
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