PANJIM: Recently the aggrieved customers of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) met in Panjim to discuss the possibilities of regaining access to their hard-earned money that has been restricted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) due to the irregularities in the functioning of the bank. It has been nearly 70 days since the RBI slammed restrictions and Goans have not made any effort to regain access to their hard earned cash.
Although, many who were present were following the details and developments of the scam through news channels or on YouTube and on social media, but none thought of creating a platform. It was a classic case of the story of everybody, somebody, anybody and nobody.
“The meet on December 1 where about 35 people gathered, could have witnessed a bigger gathering had the depositors been open to the fact that they are not alone and that not everyone in the world wants to rob them,” Mousinho dos Reis, convenor of this forum told Herald.
He further added that during the meeting, all were of the opinion that had it not been for the depositors in Mumbai who were vocal and protested since September 24th till date, a paltry sum of Rs 50,000 over a period of six months would not be a reality to all of us. The political tussle for power in Maharashtra, has overshadowed the pain and difficulties of the depositors and to add insult to injury, the restrictions by the RBI has caused eight deaths, recently being the death of a 26 year old man who suffered a cardiac arrest.
Reis informed that it was decided in the meeting to file a writ petition in the Bombay High Court at the earliest.
“It must be noted that the expenses incurred would be at cost as we are fully aware that many of the aggrieved are cash strapped. However, without moving forward we may never get our money back. There are approximately 10,000 depositors in Goa. Therefore, we appeal to the PMC depositors of Goa to come together to unite in a show of strength before the Bombay High Court,” added Reis.
The group was of the opinion, that the Goa government, the central government as well as the RBI cannot distance themselves from this scam. Every depositor of the bank contributes to the GDP and to the growth of the country.
“The government and the RBI have been distancing themselves by blaming the Bank for the false annual audited reports that were submitted. To counter that position, the depositors reiterate that they have not been party to the scam and they have been depositing their savings at the behest of the Government in the Prime Minister’s vision of making India a cashless economy,” said Reis.
