When will money reach co-operative banks, asks Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday highlighted the hardships of farmers in the state due to the cash-crunch triggered by the demonetisation drive, and asked the Centre how long would co-operative banks have to wait to receive funds from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"The day I got the news about demonetisation, I understood that people would definitely face trouble. At that very moment, I said that people should not face trouble from this decision. I called a meeting of the officers that law and order should be maintained and people of the state should not face trouble from the same," Yadav said.

He added, "Farmers are unhappy and are facing a lot of trouble. This is an appropriate time for to sow seeds, and now when the fertilizers are available, that is why I am asking for to help for the farmers. The Centre has agreed to give money to the co-operative banks, but how many co-operative banks are there and when will the money reach?"

The Chief Minister further said, "In the whole nation, if anybody has opened branches of cooperative banks in the villages, it is the Samajwadi Party-led government. The branches of banks do not have the amount of money that is required. The Centre should come up to find a solution for farmers. It has been more than 15 to 16 days since the announcement of demonetisation."

Meanwhile, theruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu on Thursday called on the Centre to stop the closure of cooperative banks in rural areas.

"Our MPs' will meet the finance minister, because all of a sudden, cooperative banks have been closed, and in most villages, there are no national or private banks, only cooperative banks are functioning. They (Centre) need to take action immediately," AIADMK leader C.R. Saraswathy told ANI.

She said farmers and the common man are suffering a lot and these banks should be given permission to carry out transactions.

On Thursday, an all-party delegation from Kerala met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today in Delhi to raise their concerns over the prevailing cash crunch. The Kerala Assembly, which held a special session on Tuesday to discuss the turbulent situation in the state's co-operative sector, passed a resolution stating that the union government should withdraw the restrictions on cooperative banks.