Mangaluru: “Vijaya Bank had helped the Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to bloom and reach their peak. But, BJP and RSS leaders never attempted to prevent its merger with the Bank of Baroda”, lamented Subbaiah Shetty, former managing director of Vijaya Bank on Friday, April 5.
Addressing the reporters, the 79-year-old Subbaiah Shetty said that the merging decision was a dictatorship policy of the union government. “The decision of merging a national Bank with a loss-making bank was just done within three hours. The Vijaya Bank was a matter of prestige for the Bunts community. As our bank is merged with a loss-making bank, it has hurt our sentiments”, he said.
“I was also a staunch RSS worker in those days. I have contributed much with Mulki Sundar Ram Shetty to develop the Vijaya Bank. Vijaya Bank has helped the leaders of both BJP and RSS. When RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat started an educational institution, I had collected advertisements for a souvenir and gathered around Rs 8 Lakh for the same institution. However, not a single BJP or RSS leader attempted to save our Vijaya Bank. The ministers of our region, MLAs or MPs never spoke with the prime minister and tried to prevent the merger of Vijaya Bank”, he said.
Vijaya Bank’s retired employee Narayana Salia and customer Sadananda Shetty were present.
