Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 24 (IANS): The Kerala Cabinet on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the Reserve Bank of India's statement cautioning the public against cooperative societies using 'bank' in their names as well as accepting deposits from people who are not their members.

The Cabinet meeting, held under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here, has decided to send a delegation to meet all those concerned at the Centre to see that similar statements should not be put out as they create panic in the state, where the cooperative sector is flourishing.

State Cooperative Minister V.N. Vasavan has already gone on record to state that this move will "destroy" the flourishing cooperative sector in the state and it will be dealt with strongly using all means like discussions with the Centre, holding protests and considering seeking legal redress.

The RBI order that came out on Tuesday stated that after the amendment in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, effective September 29, 2020, cooperative societies cannot use the words "bank", "banker" or "banking" as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions or by the RBI.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also holds the portfolio of the Cooperative Minister. The Ministry was created in July this year with the aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.