Arun Jaitley clears more loans to see through crisis, says Thomas Isaac

Kochi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has given in-principle clearance for the demand by the state for sourcing more loans to tide over the crisis created by the currency crunch, said Finance Minister Thomas Isaac while speaking to reporters in Kochi on Sunday. The state has raised the demand for availing more loans in view of overall decline in the resources of the state, Mr. Isaac added.

Kerala at present is facing the peculiar situation of not having the currency to pay the pension and salary despite having the money for the same, Dr. Isaac said. Although the availability of currency is expected to increase by January, the income of the state would witness a decline due to the economic chaos created by the currency crisis, he said. The current crisis is created by Modi cannot be resolved overnight, he said.

Launching a scathing attack on opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala Dr. Isaac said he is trying to whitewash the BJP. Mr. Chennithala should at least follow what Dr. Manmohan Singh said about the withdrawal of currency", he said. Although the currency was withdrawn on November 8 Mr. Chennithala became aware of it only on November 10, Isaac said.

The Finance Minister also criticised the campaign against the cooperative sector in the state. The district cooperative banks and the state cooperative banks are functioning under the KYC norms. If any shortcoming is pointed out in the case of primary cooperatives the same can be rectified, he added. But freezing the deposits of 21 lakh ordinary depositors in the state cannot be justified, he added.