The Asian Age - News Worldwide

The Asian Age - News Worldwide

New Delhi, Aug. 18: The Union finance ministry has denied the charges levelled by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Balbir K. Punj against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in the Global Trust Bank case.

"Government have noted, with considerable disappointment and regret, that in an article by Balbir K. Punj veiled insinuations have been made against the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in the matter concerning Global Trust Bank (GTB). It is obvious that Mr Punj is willing to strike but afraid to wound, and that is why he has stopped just short of making accusations," said the statement issued by the ministry on Wednesday.

It said, "Nevertheless, the references to the Prime Minister and the former Prime Minister deserve to be deplored."

According to the statement, the GTB has been sliding since March 2001 till date of merger. If, as the author alleges, the GTB has burnt a hole of Rs 800 crores-Rs 1,200 crores, the hole was burning since March 2001. Shortly after the UPA government took over, the finance minister discussed the matter with the RBI governor and asked him to take suitable steps to protect the interest of the stakeholders, especially the depositors.

The RBI acted promptly and, after conducting its own enquiries, advised the government to impose a moratorium on the activities of the GTB, and this was done with effect from July 24. On July 26, a draft scheme proposing the merger of GTB with Oriental Bank of Commerce was proposed and a notice inviting objections was published. Within three weeks, the objections were processed, and a final order directing the amalgamation of GTB with OBC was made on August 14, the statement said.

It added that the depositors have welcomed the swiftness and promptitude with which the government and the RBI have acted in the matter. These decisions were taken at the level of the finance minister and the governor, RBI. The Prime Minister’s approval was taken for the publication of the notification with effect from August 14, 2004, it added.