Slashing of interest rates on SBI savings bank accounts to fund Yes Bank revival: Congress

The Congress on Friday alleged that the Rs 7,250 crore which the State Bank of India is set to infuse into the cash-strapped Yes Bank for its revival will be provided by the cut in interest rates for over 44.51 crore SBI account holders.

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and the party's leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said it is important to understand the "chronology" of the Modi government's "new experiment" of "looting" over Rs 7,000 crore interest from account holders to save a sinking bank.

"The Cabinet approved RBI's revival plan for Yes Bank. The SBI will infuse Rs 7,250 crore in Yes Bank. This is the same money that SBI has got by cutting down interest rates for 44 crore 51 lakh account holders," Surjewala said.

The SBI on Wednesday cut interest rates on savings bank accounts to 3 per cent and also waived the minimum balance requirement. The country's largest lender has 44.51 crore savings bank (SB) accounts.

It also reduced its fixed deposit rates and the marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) for various tenors.

The SBI on Thursday announced a Rs 7,250 crore fund infusion into the crippled Yes Bank under which it will pick up to 49 per cent equity in the fourth largest private sector lender. The fund infusion is part of the Reserve Bank of India-mandated rescue plan.

Surjewala and Chowdhury, in a statement, also alleged that the Modi government is "fleecing" Rs 1,60,000 crore from the pockets of 112 crore prepaid mobile subscribers.

"On October 24, the Supreme Court directed the Telecom companies to pay Rs 1,02,000 crore, as indicated by the Solicitor General before the Court, to the government towards 'Adjusted Gross Revenue' (AGR) under the Telecom Policy, 1999," the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a cabinet meeting, has approved deferring Rs 42,000 crore of "spectrum auction installments" of telecom companies for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, with three private telecom companies getting a deferment, the statement claimed.

The three telecom operators proceeded to raise cell phone tariff and data usage charges for prepaid customers by 40-50 per cent, the Congress alleged.

"This will mean that 112 crore prepaid cell phone users will pay an extra amount of Rs 35,561.81 crore annually," Surjewala claimed.

"Hence, in the remaining four and a half years of the Modi government, 112 crore prepaid cell phone users will pay an extra amount of Rs 1,60,028 crore," he alleged.