Regulatory troubles due to 'emotional comment' on Sonia: Sahara group

The Sahara group on Friday said its current challenges with regulators were an outcome of its comment on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have put regulatory hurdles for the group since 2008, said Sahara group Chairman Subrata Roy, when he had said an Indian citizen and not someone of a foreign origin, should be the prime minister. "I become emotional sometimes about my country. I had raised the point that an Indian citizen should be the prime minister and that translated into RBI action. But now this isn't political and it is more about the egos of regulators."

On BCCI
"BCCI (The Board Of Control For Cricket In India) was very good and very friendly. We used to think and work together, but the present president (N Srinivasan) never keeps his promises. So, why should we put up with his false ego," Roy said, when asked why his company's sponsorship of the Indian cricket team was withdrawn.

The RBI targeted the group's deposit-taking business only after the comment, he said. A series of such regulatory attacks forced him to shut his residuary non-banking companies business, Roy claimed.

During an interaction with reporters, he said states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have done well when compared with others.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in power in the three states named by Roy. He later added Uttar Pradesh to the list. The Samajwadi Party, which has given outside supported to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, is in power in Uttar Pradesh.

The second big reason for the turbulence faced by the group due to the regulators' actions, Roy said, was because it had venture into many high-profile sectors and most did not like that. "First generation companies that have grown this big have always faced challenges."

The Sahara group continues to receive deposits through its cooperatives; it has about Rs 35,000 crore of public deposits, with fresh collections going up to Rs 12,000 crore every year, Roy pointed out. When asked if the regulatory interventions had dented the group's businesses, Roy said that on the contrary, the businesses have shown growth. He, however, failed to quantify the growth.

The chairman of the group skirted a question on who would be the best candidate for the next prime minister - between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi - saying it was difficult to say who would be good for the country.

On West Bengal, Roy said he was emotionally attached to the state and had many investment plans. The new government under Mamata Banerjee had not shown a keen interest in the group's investment plans, he said. "I had informed them (of the investment plans), but there have been no call backs. I suppose, probably, we are not needed here." The Left Front government, during Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's leadership, was very proactive, he added.