NEW DELHI: Congress on Saturday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government accusing it of turning banks into “collection agents” to “loot” citizens. This remark came after the RBI allowed banks to hike ATM withdrawal charges on Friday.
“Our banks have been unfortunately made ‘collection agents’ by the Modi government! ATM withdrawal charges to be costlier,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said giving a list of charges levied by banks.
“The Modi government has extracted at least Rs 43,500 crore due to non-maintenance of minimum balance from savings accounts and Jan Dhan accounts combined, between 2018 and 2024,” the Congress chief wrote in a post on X.
Kharge outlined various charges imposed on citizens, including:
- An inactivity fee, which is Rs 100-200 every year.
- Bank statement issuance fee is Rs 50-100.
- Rs 20-25 per quarter is charged for SMS alerts.
- Banks charge 1-3 per cent as loan processing fees
- If loan is paid on time, then loan pre-closure charges are levied.
- NEFT, Demand Draft charges are an additional burden.
- KYC updates like signature changes also attract a fee.
He noted that the government no longer provides Parliament with data on these collected charges. “Painful Price Rise + Unbridled Loot = BJP’s Mantra for Extortion!” he concluded.
The RBI announced revised charges for ATM and Cash Recycler Machine (CRM) transactions exceeding the free limit. The new fee structure will take effect from May 1, 2025.
Under the new guidelines, account holders can make five free transactions monthly (including financial and non-financial) at their bank’s ATMs. They can conduct free transactions at other banks’ ATMs – three in metropolitan areas and five in non-metropolitan locations.
Similarly, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticised the BJP government’s economic policies, claiming that Rs 16 lakh crore in loans were waived for “billionaire friends,” leading to a banking sector crisis.
In a separate post on X, Gandhi said, “The BJP government has written off Rs 16 lakh crore in loans for their billionaire friends. Cronyism, coupled with regulatory mismanagement, has pushed India’s banking sector into crisis.”
This burden is ultimately borne by junior employees, who endure stress and toxic work conditions, he said.
Gandhi mentioned meeting 782 former ICICI Bank staff members in Parliament who shared their experiences of workplace difficulties and unfair treatment for reporting improper lending practices.
“Their stories reveal a disturbing pattern–workplace harassment, forced transfers, retaliation for exposing unethical lending to NPA violators, and terminations without due process. In two tragic cases, this led to suicide,” he added.
Further criticising the BJP government’s handling of the financial sector he continued, “The BJP government’s economic mismanagement has a human cost. This is a matter of utmost concern which affects thousands of honest working professionals around the country.”
