Condemning the merger of nationalised banks announced by the Union government, MLC Ivan D’Souza said that the identity of Dakshina Kannada is lost with the merger of banks that took birth in undivided Dakshina Kannada.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he said the merger of Syndicate Bank with Canara Bank and Corporation Bank with Union Bank is an insult and injustice to the people of the coastal district.
“Although the Centre claims that the merger of banks will strengthen banks, it is a conspiracy to help the capitalists and private sector. It will neither reduce the NPAs nor increase lending activities,” he said.
“Large scale merger of branches will adversely impact the ease of banking for the common public. Moreover, the customers of small banks will face neglect. Owing to the nationalised banks in the country, we did not face any impact of the global economic crisis in the past,” D’Souza said.
The MLC said that the GDP has declined in the country. “Growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) stands below 5%. The prime minister and finance minister are least bothered about the economy of the country. The economy of the country is in ICU and the Union government is in deep slumber,” he alleged.
He added that, instead of getting black money stashed in Swiss accounts, the Union government had taken away Rs 1.76 lakh crore surplus reserves from the Reserve Bank of India.
Coming down heavily on the Centre, he said that 40% of the production in the automobile industries has been hit.
“Further, more than 3.5 lakh small industries have been closed down due to the policies of the government. The country failed to attract foreign investment. After the merger of five associate banks with the SBI, around 1,000 branches were closed down. There are plans to close down 40% of the branches of Vijaya Bank after its merger with Bank of Baroda. Corporation Bank, which had its roots in undivided Dakshina Kannada is merged with the city-based Union Bank, which has only seven branches in undivided Dakshina Kannada,” he pointed out.