The Sri Guru Raghavendra Bank (SGRC) scam has taken a political turn after a complaint was filed with the ECI regarding the alleged manhandling of Election Commission officials at a recent meeting called by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and his uncle Basavangudi MLA Ravi Subramanya.
The complaint was filed on Tuesday, April 16 by Congress leaders UB Venkatesh, Dr Shankar Guha Dwarkanath, V Manjula, and V Harish. The complaint urged the ECI to take action against people who had manhandled the officials of the ECI during the meeting called by Tejasvi Surya and Ravi Subramanya.
Read: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya questioned by bank scam victims, exits in a huff
Meanwhile, following the ruckus at Tejasvi Surya’s campaign, the MP claimed on social media that the Congress had deliberately sent protesters to foil his meeting. Other videos have emerged on social media by supporters of the MP claiming that the Congress had planted their workers at the meeting.
Sharing a video on X, Tejasvi on Monday wrote, “Fearing their inevitable defeat, desperate Congress first resorted to bribery & got caught with cash in Jayanagar 4th Block. Now, they're resorting to disruption, sending agitators to push, shove & assault women & senior citizens at our meetings. Congress toolkit in Bengaluru South clearly exposed in this video.”
The SGRC Bank scam involves misappropriation of nearly Rs 1,500 crore. The Enforcement Directorate which investigated the scam found that officers and employees of the bank had siphoned off the money.
On April 13, Tejasvi Surya and Ravi Subramanya held a meeting with SGRC customers affected by the scam. The customers assumed that the BJP leaders would discuss the revival of the bank but instead both Tejasvi and his uncle were there to campaign for the BJP. Earlier, Ravi Subramanya had promised to revive the bank during his election campaign.
Irate over this, some victims of the scam got into an argument with Tejasvi and Ravi Subramanya. Following this, both the leaders left the meeting midway without answering any of the victims' questions.
Speaking to TNM, Congress leader Manjula V, who is also the General Secretary of Sri Guru Raghavendra Depositors Welfare Association, said that she has been a customer of the bank since 2016. She is yet to get her Rs 2 lakh back from the bank, she alleged.
“I sat on a protest for over 40 days after the scam came to light. Days after the scam, Tejasvi Surya assured us that he would ensure that each of us got all our money back. We went to him and Ravi Subramanya many times. But nothing has been done,” she alleged. The victims eventually started approaching Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Congress President DK Shivakumar, she said.
“I am not a member of any political party. If it is a public cause, then there is nothing wrong with taking the help of any political party. I am currently at the AAP office. We have sought the help of many BJP leaders too. Our issue needs to be highlighted. Without visibility, there will be no impact. The members of our association will take the help of any political party that is ready to help,” said V Harish, a customer and head of Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank (Ni) Sherudarara Mathu Thevanidarara Hitarakshana Vedike.
In January 2020, the Reserve Bank of India placed restrictions on SGRC Bank, prohibiting it from issuing fresh loans or making new investments without prior approval from the RBI. It also prohibited the withdrawal of more than Rs 35,000 from any depositor’s account. The withdrawal limit was later raised to Rs 1 lakh. The depositors are still waiting to withdraw their savings from the bank.
According to the investigative authorities, the bank attracted depositors by promising them a higher rate of interest than the existing market rate. The ED had said that the employees and officers of the bank had opened fictitious loan accounts without proper documents and transferred that money into the overdue loan accounts to project the bank as financially healthy. In February, the ED told the jurisdictional court that it found no documents for over 2,000 loans amounting to Rs 1,544 crore.