Former Chief Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Saturday voiced his opposition to the merger of 10 public sector banks, describing it as “reckless” and being done “without proper discussion”.
He told reporters here that the 10 banks had their own identities. The four nationalised banks, which had taken their birth in undivided Dakshina Kannada, had laid emphasis on providing banking to the rural areas.
The bank merger announcement was akin to the decisions on demonetization and on the revocation of the special status for Jammu and Kashmir, both of which were done without thorough discussion. The Union government had not taken Parliament into confidence over the bank merger.
He alleged that the banks were being merged to give loans to the corporate sector, and said it wouldn’t be surprising if they were sold to foreign entities. “There was undeclared financial emergency in the country. This was testified by the RBI’s transfer of surplus of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the Union government. Unemployment was at a high four decade high in the country. Crony capitalism was being encouraged in the country,” he said. Replying to a query, Mr. Moily said water for the Yettinahole project was taken from the Kumaradhara river and not from the Nethravati river. He was ready for a public debate on the issue, he said.
Answering a question, Mr. Moily said former minister Pramod Madhwaraj had contested on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket from the Udupi- Chikkamagaluru parliamentary constituency. “The day Mr. Madhwaraj got the JD(S) ticket, he automatically lost the membership of the Congress. You (media) have to ask him which party he belongs to now,” he said.
Vinay Kumar Sorake, fromer Minister, U.R. Sabhapathi, former MLA, Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, President of District Congress Committee, M.A. Gafoor, Congress leader, were present.
