Srinagar, May 05: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) J&K spokesman expressed his deep anguish and concern over the Every Month Installment (EMI) deduction on various loans by the Jammu and Kashmir Bank despite clear cut guidelines by the RBI that no instalment will be deducted on loans from April to May in the wake of pandemic Covid-19.
In a statement issued here, Thakur said that it was irony that J&K Bank is following a dictatorial attitude and not abiding the guidelines of RBI and still debiting the installments on loans leaving the customers high and dry. “J&K Bank is perhaps of the believe that J&K is a still a state and it can do things of its choice. But to remind its officials and those involved in unjustified EMI deduction, that J&K is a Union Territory and here all rules will apply in the same way as they are in rest of the country. No authoritarian attitude will work at a time when people are facing financial constraints due to the pandemic,” he said.
Thakur said that he received dozens of complaints from the people who have housing loan, vehicle loan and personal loan that their EMI was debited despite a moratorium announced by the RBI for three months.
“This is callous approach of the Bank and it should immediately refund the amount deducted from the customers’ accounts. At a time when people need a helping hand from the government, no act should be done that adds to the miseries of people,” said Thakur.
He said people of J&K have immensely suffered due to the pandemic in the similar way as people of rest of UTs and States of India have suffered and all the relaxations and schemes announced by the GoI to provide relief and breather to the people are fully applicable to the people of J&K too. He urged J&K Bank to correct the wrong and look into the issue as to why EMI of its customers was being ducted despite direction from RBI.