Maharashtra

Mulund

Kirit Somaiya

Housing Development

Sanjay Nirupam

A day after the RBI imposed a freeze on payouts on the Punjab &Co-operative (PMC) Bank for regulatory lapses, sending customers into a state of panic, it has emerged that many of the 12 directors of the bank allegedly have links with the BJP.Rajneet Singh, one of the co-directors, is the son of Sardar Tara Singh, the BJP's four-time MLA fromRajneet himself is a party member, and is said to be seeking a ticket from Mulund for the assembly election to replace his 75-year-old father. Rajneet had tried bag a BJP ticket from Mulund for the 2017 BMC election, but was pipped by Neil Somaiya, son of then BJP MPThe RBI had on Tuesday imposed a number of restrictions for six months, including capping withdrawals at Rs 1,000 per customer and banning the bank from offering loans. Senior officials said gross under-reporting of bad loans and a loan of Rs 2,500 crore to the now bankrupt real estate companyand Infrastructure HDIL were major reasons behind the bank regulator's punitive actions.Rajneet said this is his third term as director in the last 13 years. "I am not involved in the day-to-day activities of the bank and am not aware of any loan disbursal. We are requesting the RBI to relax the withdrawal cap. We request the customers not to panic."He said the bank is also trying to raise liquidity from other banks. He claimed the bank has enough assets and "is also in profit", although reports state that it has just a little over Rs 11,000 crore left in deposits.Sardar Tara Singh, too, reiterated that neither his son nor any of the bank directors had anything to do with loan disbursals. "He (Rajneet) is just a director. Loan disbursals are handled at the level of the bank manager," he said.The Congress, however, asserted that the bank directors are equally liable. "Almost all of the bank's directors are connected with the BJP. They are responsible for the hardships faced by customers. They disbursed loans to defaulting real estate companies and have manipulated audit reports. The RBI must lift the restrictions and allow people to withdraw their hard- earned money," said, former city Congress chief.Sources said among the borrowers is a former senior Congress leader who recently quit the party.