Official clarifies on Nirmala Sitharaman’s SBI chief audio clip

Sitharaman was lamenting at the insensitivity of the local bank officials. “The poor tea garden workers were not being able to withdraw their own direct benefit transfer benefits,” he said.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed Assam state banker’s committee to remove all impediments expeditiously that has blocked money of about 8 lakh tea garden workers in their Jan-Dhan bank accounts since 2017, a finance ministry official said requesting anonymity.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.(PTI)

“In fact, FM had judiciously and rightly pulled the local bank officials for being insensitive to the plight of these 8 lakh innocent and poor tea garden workers,” the official.

Sitharaman was lamenting at the insensitivity of the local bank officials. “The poor tea garden workers were not being able to withdraw their own direct benefit transfer benefits,” he said.

About 8 lakh bank accounts of poor workers had been opened by the Assam government in 2017 where it had transferred an incentive amount of Rs 5,000 to each person.