Pinayari calls for legislation to contain money lenders

Kottayam, Aug 30 (UNI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan today called for enactment of suitable legislation to contain unscrupulous money lenders.

Inaugurating a workshop here, Mr Vijayan asserted the Left Government in the state was committed to contain the unscrupulous private money lenders.

Suitable legislation on the model of the one prevailing in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Gujarat and other states should be enacted, he added.

The Kerala Moneylenders Act and the Chitty Act should be amended to save people from the clutches of the blade mafia, he said and added a special wing has to be created in the state police to handle financial crimes effectively.

Criticising the Centre's move to permit commercial banks to engage agents in villages, he contended that it would only help to strengthen the unscrupulous money lenders.

The Union Finance Minister was trying to destroy the cooperative banks by imposing income tax and other restrictions, he charged and added that weakening of the cooperative banks would only help to create a favourable atmosphere for the these money lenders.

He appealed to the banks to increase the credit deposit ratio in the state as it was only 100: 40 now, the lowest in southern India and was not adequate for the development of the state.

Referring to the court verdict against the Kerala Professional Colleges Act, he said the Act was to make higher education sector accessible to the common people.

A comprehensive Debt Relief Act should be enacted in addition to the agriculture Debt Relief Act to save the farmers from exploitation by money lenders, he added.

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