National

I raised Margadarsi issue for depositors: MP

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Congress MP V. Arun Kumar claimed here on Saturday that he had only protected the interests of the depositors of Margadarsi Financiers by "exposing the violations of the Reserve Bank of India Act."

He said the announcement by Ramoji Group chairman Ramoji Rao that the shares of a group company would be sold to an international firm to repay the depositors of Margadarsi Financiers was proof of this. "But for selling its properties, there is no other way Margadarsi can repay the amount," he said at a press conference.

Referring to the editorial published in The Hindu on the Margadarsi issue, he said it was unfortunate that such views appeared in a daily which was among the few that had contributed immensely to the freedom struggle. Mr. Arun Kumar denied that pressure was being mounted on the Finance Ministry to act against Margadarsi to financially cripple the daily, Eenadu. "I raised the irregularities as a Member of Parliament when they came to my notice. How can it be termed as mounting pressure on anybody? Has anybody contradicted the issue I had raised about unauthorised collection of deposits by Margadarsi?" he asked.

The Congress MP said there was a need for a national debate on the issue to ensure that such incidents did not recur. He would organise such a debate and invite editors and senior journalists to participate.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu