Around 5 lakh people, who invested in four cooperatives run by the Sahara Group, are expected to converge in Delhi in December to protest the government’s failure to refund their deposits.
A portal launched in July by the Union Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah to refund the money of the investors, most of whom are from rural and semi-urban areas across 26 States, has failed to take off, with multiple complaints of rejection.
Abhay Dev Shukla, president of a registered body representing the Sahara investors, said on November 22 that after the death of Sahara Group founder Subrata Roy, there was fear among the people that the unclaimed funds would be returned to the Consolidated Fund of India.
Roy passed away on November 14 in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He and his company are facing multiple probes by investigating agencies.
Mr. Shukla said that if the government confiscated the Sahara chairperson’s property, “the money of crores of investors will be lost, which cannot be tolerated at any cost”.
“In December, depositors from all over the country will reach Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and will gherao (surround) the offices of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Prime Minister’s Office,” Mr. Shukla said.
The investors also questioned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s condolence message on Roy’s demise.
Sansar Singh, Uttar Pradesh State president of the Jan Andolan Sangharsh Morcha, said there were around 1,000 cases registered against Roy in Uttar Pradesh. “Yogi Adityanath does not see the suffering of crores of people of Uttar Pradesh. A befitting reply to all this will be given at the Delhi Jantar Mantar,” Mr. Singh said.
On July 18, the Central government set up the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) portal (mocrefund.crcs.gov.in) for small investors in four cooperatives — Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited, Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Society Limited, Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited, and Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited. These were registered from March 2010 to January 2014, in Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, respectively, under the provisions of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
The investors received the promised returns of around 7%-11% interest on the principal amount for the first few years. From 2017-2018 onwards, the returns stopped.
