THE Grameen Bank Act, 2013 that was passed in parliament on Tuesday will now enable the government to exercise more control in day to day matter, and decisive control in policy matters, of Grameen Bank (GB).
We fail to understand the government's actual motive behind this move centring on an iconic international institution like the GB.
It may be recalled that, earlier, the government had set up two committees to look into the internal workings of GB, which, otherwise, was functioning without any problem all these years implementing its mission of empowering women and eradicating poverty in the rural areas. The committees did not find any flaw in the working of this very successful micro-finance institution.
We are baffled that when so many public banks are in the red because of poor management and lax control, why should the government be after the GB, if it is not with a mala fide intent of taking it over?
The government likes to flaunt the fact that it owns 25 per cent of the Bank. Could we now ask if it has taken the opinions of the rest 75 per cent shareholders of the bank before bringing about this change in the law that has enabled it to operate smoothly to reach the enviable position it enjoys at the moment?
We are forced to conclude that this decision has been motivated more by a personal feeling of vengeance than by the interest of the people. We deeply regret this action and condemn it in the strongest possible terms.