Mumbai, May 2: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lashed out at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre following reports which said that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has terminated the license of The CKP Co-Operative Bank. The lender, based in Mumbai, was already placed under the central bank's watch since 2014. The RBI reportedly revoked the bank's license on Thursday night, after finding financial irregularities. The CKP Co-Operative Bank's License Cancelled by RBI, Depositors Entitled to be Paid Upto Rs 5 Lakh On Liquidation.

The RBI decision will hits scores of people amid the ongoing lockdown. The bank, according to Moneycontrol, has 1.25 lakh account holders and 11,000 depositors-investors. Its current net worth is stated to be Rs 230 crores and the cumulative amount collected by it under fixed deposits is reported to be Rs 485 crores.

After it came under strain in 2014, efforts were taken by the Bank board to improve its fiscal condition. Return interest rates were lowered to 2 percent which also ended up improving the bank's performance. On March 31, the RBI extended the permit for the bank to operate by another two months. However, it ended up revoking the licence via an order issued on April 30, the reports said. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das Says Banks Can Decide on Offering 3-Month Moratorium to NBFCs.

The Maharashtra unit of the AAP trained guns at the Modi government over the bank's closure. Drawing parallels with the Yes Bank case, the party claimed that the Centre allowed the scam-tainted lender to recover within a month as several corporates are account holders. On the contrary, the CKP Bank was not aided as its customer base was largely the middle class, the party alleged.

Statement Issued by AAP on Twitter

"The management of CKP bank was able to recover around 147 crores in last 4 years and as per reports were keen to commence banking business.Earlier on 31st March 2020 CKP Bank was granted an extension of restriction to commence business for 2 months till 31st May 2020," it said.

"In a shocking move, contradictory of their own order, the RBI has cancelled the license on 30th April 2020 without any discussions with the management or the depositors! (sic)," it added.

"Why did RBI go back on its own order and secretly rescind the license of this cooperative bank? Is there no accountability? In a similar cavalier fashion another co-operative bank, license of the Mapusa Co-op Bank was cancelled on April 17th 2020, again during the lockdown," the party further asked.

"Clearly the Modi Government's economic policies, if indeed there are any, are against small depositors. They only cater to corporate India and protect the ever growing NPAs of large businesses where collusion and corruption is open for all to see," the AAP statement read.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2020 08:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).