Rs 150 transactional fee by HDFC, Axis, ICICI unfair; reverse it: Robert Vadra

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra on Friday slammed private banks for announcing fresh charges for cash withdrawals and deposits, saying they were “unfair.”

Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra on Friday slammed private banks for announcing fresh charges for cash withdrawals and deposits, saying they were “unfair”.

Robert Vadra at the HT Leadership Summit in New Delhi in 2011.(HT File Photo)

“Banks are using the government’s move towards a cashless economy post-demonetisation, to levy these charges to fatten their bottom lines,” he posted on Facebook.

India’s leading private banks said on Wednesday they will charge a minimum of Rs 150 for cash deposits and withdrawals at bank branches after four free transactions in a month, revising charges that were kept in abeyance briefly after the government demonetisation on November 8.

HDFC, ICICI and Axis will calculate the fee – aimed at reducing cash transactions at banks – at the rate of Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 transacted or Rs 150, whichever is higher.

Vadra said the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India should step in to offer relief to the common man and reverse the extra charges.

“Who is the sufferer? Of course, the common man. Small-savings & salaried people are easy targets (sic),” the businessman said.

Vadra is not a member of any party but he frequently expresses opinions on political matters and current issues. He has often campaigned for his mother-in-law and brother in law Rahul Gandhi during their election campaigns.