Depositors urge advani to intervene in MMCB case

The Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank depositors’ association staged dharna outside the circuit house, where Union home minister L.K. Adavni was putting up, seeking revival of MMCB. Mr. Advani was in the city to lay foundation stone of the Science City.

After much protesting, president of Navgujarat Bank Depositors Association Jitubhai Shah and four others were allowed to meet Mr. Advani to plead their case. Later, Mr. Shah said that although the Madhavpura Revival Committee submitted its report ten days back, the Centre has not taken any concrete action.

Sources said Mr. Advani assured the depositors that bank will be revived but also asked them to keep patience. Earlier, members of the Akhil Bharitya Customers Organization met Mr. Advani and represented the same case.

A revival committee appointed by the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies had recently submitted a detailed bailout package for Madhavpura to Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha and the RBI.

Going by the report, about 350 odd cooperative banks in Gujarat will contribute four per cent of their deposits towards MMCB’s revival. Mr. Advani had taken keen interest in the bailout scheme, which has been keeping thousands of depositors on tenterhooks. The bank is now being run by administrator S. Ramchandran, who had put in his papers only to withdraw it later.

Republished from Asian Age