Withdraw draconian FRDI bill, demands Mamata

Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) Describing the proposed Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017 as the "biggest assault" on financial security of the poor and the middle classes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked the Central government to withdraw the legislation.

In a strongly worded letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Banerjee said she was "shocked" at the Narendra Modi government's plan to bring the "draconian" bill in the winter session of parliament.

Contending that the bill will "be the biggest assault on the financial security of the poor and the middle classes", she said it would "completely shatter the age-old faith and trust reposed by the people on the banking system of the country".

Banerjee called the bill "grossly unfair" to the common people and "totally unethical".

"It appears that this bill will forcibly take away the hard-earned life savings of the common people entrusted to the banks, for bailing out one section of vested interests, who have siphoned off the loans given to them by the banking system.

"This is tantamount to cheating the deposits, for no fault of them. This, in my view, is grossly unfair and totally unethical."

Alleging that the banking system has failed in managing the banking sector on sound financial principles and highest norms of transparency and probity, the Chief Minister said "it is a travesty that the government of India as an owner of the nationalised banks, us now trying to replenish the eroded capital of banks by forcibly taking away the small depositors' savings, instead of facing the crisis in the banking sector head on, from its own resources".

"Therefore, I would like to sincerely appeal to the government of India to desist from enacting this draconian law and withdraw the bill, so as to ensure the common people are saved from financial ruin," the missive said.