Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Monday sought an early presidential nod to a bill which the state passed about a year and a half ago to protect the interest of small depositors.
Patnaik wrote to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde seeking his intervention for expediting the presidential assent to the Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Bill, 2011, an official of the Chief Minister's Office here told IANS.
"In view of the urgency, I am drawing your personal attention for expediting the presidential assent to the bill so that we can firmly and effectively deal with frauds being perpetrated by unscrupulous financial establishments," Patnaik stated in the letter.
The chief minister's letter comes at a time when opposition parties in the state have been accusing the state government of not acting against companies which have been collecting money from small investors promising extra-ordinarily high returns.
Referring to the series of chit-fund scams that have come to light in recent months, Patnaik said in his letter that the bill contains extensive safeguards for protecting small investors from the malpractices of fraudulent financial entities.
The state assembly passed the bill Dec 17, 2011.
