Asked to bend, every banker crawled to lend loans to Vijay Mallya during the UPA-II regime, leading to the current payment default of about Rs 12,000 crores by Mallya companies. But in that grim and fearful environment when a handfull of corrupt politicians and their minions were whipping bankers and officials into abominable submission, one banker stood out for his refusal to kowtow to "durbar-e-Congressia". Indianmandarins has learnt that former Canara Bank CMD Avinash Chander Mahajan (appointed CMD Canara Bank in Dec 2013) refused to buckle to the diktat for lending to Vijay Mallaya. He made it clear to the political executive that he could not reverse a board decision taken against granting any loan to the Mallya companies. If the government wanted that board decision reversed and Mallya accommodated, then its official nominee on the board could propose in this regard and the board would consider the matter afresh. Upon this, someone threatened and tried to bully him. But Mahajan dug in his heels to stand the ground and save his bank, even as he lost a grand opportunity to be appointed to CVC member.