New Delhi: Opposing Centre's move to privatise Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to proposed move.
"I request you to stop the privatisation of IDBI, let the banks recover dues from big industrialists and take strong action against people like (Vijay) Mallya," Kejriwal wrote.
"It is very unfortunate that the government, instead of acting strongly against people like Mallya, is letting them flee the country. There must be so many industrialists who have taken money from the banks.
"The government, on one hand, is stopping the banks from recovering the money while it is selling their shares towards privatising them," Kejriwal wrote.
In the letter, Kejriwal said in the last five decades, IDBI has played an important role in the industrial development of the country through its coordination with many financial institutions.
“Now, the government wants to privatise it by reducing its stake, which is 51 per cent. It is a financial institution which helps industrial sectors,” said the Chief Minister. Kejriwal pointed out that the reason given for IDBI’s proposed privatisation was that the government wanted to earn by selling its share in IDBI.
The Chief Minister said that IDBI is a "profit making" entity and according to the bank's financial statement, its operating profit before provisions and contingencies till December 2015 stands at Rs 1,117 crore.
