Drenched in rain, activists of the Left parties staged a demonstration in front of the Andhra Bank branch at the Nellore bus stand here on Tuesday in protest against the Centre's decision to merge public sector banks.
Leading the protest, Communist Party of India(CPI) State secretary K. Ramakrishna said the Centre's decision to merge Andhra Bank with the Union Bank of India along with Corporation Bank hurt the ‘self-esteem’ of the people of Andhra Pradesh, just like the merger of the Hyderabad-headquartered State Bank of Hyderabad with State Bank of India went against the interest of Telangana people.
Big corporates in Mumbai and other places would knock away with the advances from the merged entities which collected deposits from the twin Telugu-speaking states, he feared.
The decision, which would see closure of the bank branches especially in rural areas in a big way and downsizing of the establishment, was undertaken in a haphazard manner without understanding the history of Andhra Bank, founded during freedom struggle by Pattabhi Sitaramayya, he lamented.
The Narendra Modi Government, which had failed to implement even a single promise made to the State at the time of bifurcation, was playing with the sentiments of the people, said CPI(M) East Prakasam district secretary P.Anjaneyulu and demanded that the merger decision be taken back.