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Maharashtra blames IFCI for attachment orders
January 09, 2003 21:25 IST
The Maharashtra government stopped short of blaming the Centre for the Debt Recovery Tribunal ordering the attachment of offices of secretaries of co-operatives and textiles in Mantralaya to recover a state-backed loan of Rs 50.69 crore (Rs 507 million) given by IFCI to a co-operative sugar factory controlled by a minister.
"The move by IFCI, controlled by the Centre, to invoke state government's counter guarantee and seek attachment of Mantralaya offices may be an attempt to defame the state government.
"In the state, we (Congress-Nationalist Congress Party) are in power while at the Centre they (Bharatiya Janata Party and allies) are ruling," Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told a news conference.
Deshmukh said he would take up the matter soon with Union Finance Minister Jaswant Singh.
However, he clarified that he was not commenting on the DRT's order but expressed surprise over the alacrity with which IFCI invoked the state government's counter-guarantee to recover loans issued by it to Sindkheda co-operative sugar mill, controlled by Democratic Front minister Hemant Deshmukh.
He hastened to add that other financial institutions like ICICI and IDBI have been co-operating with the state government.
"Somehow IFCI have chosen this path. We never expected that they will go this far", the chief minister said.
IFCI should have exercised restraint as it was dealing with a government and should have prevented the defamation of Maharashtra, Deshmukh said, adding, "the government will challenge the DRT's order."
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