Fernandes To Raise Indian Bank Losses

Speaker P A Sangma of his intention to move an adjournment motion and a calling attention motion on Indian Bank's huge losses during the last financial year.

The issue could become a major political embarrassment in Parlia- ment for both the ruling United Front and the Congress. The opposition is sure to seize on the recent admission into the Tamil Maanila Congress, a United Front constituent, of the bank's former chairman and managing director Gopalakrishnan.

They are likely to focus on the fact that government action, including investigations, into Gopalakrishnan's alleged misdoings when he headed Indian Bank will now have to be supervised by his party colleagues, finance minister P Chidambaram and minister of state for personnel S R Balasubramaniam.

 

They will also surely criticise the Congress for the extensions that Gopalakrishnan was given by the Rao government, despite reports of mismanagement and increasing losses. Gopalakrish-nan is closely associated with TMC leaders such as GK Moopanar, who were all then in the Congress.

The extensions are said to have been given by Rao, under pressure from Moopanar, and in the face of opposition from fromer finance minister Manmohan Singh and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

If the speaker rejects the adjournment motion, as he almost certainly will, Fernandes will press to be allowed to move the calling attention motion. Even if the speaker disallows that format, he may allow a short duration discussion under rule 193.

Both of Fernandes's motions seek a debate on the loss of Rs 1,336 crore posted by the Indian Bank for the year 1995-96 and the failure of the Reserve Bank of India and other regulatory agencies to prevent such a development.

They are also likely to point to complaints and CBI inves against Gopalakrishnan and to allegations that he had the patronage of the previous Congress government because of his links with 0the Moopanar faction of its Tamil Nadu unit, which has now taken the form of the TMC.