Mangaluru : Congress workers and party leaders observed a ‘Black Day’ against the merger of Vijaya Bank in front of the Vijaya Bank Mallikatte branch on Monday.

Addressing the protesters,Congress candidate from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency Mithun Rai said Vijaya Bank was a victim of dictatorship.

“By feeding false information to people of Dakshina Kannada about saving Vijaya Bank, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel has fooled people of the district. April 1 is a ‘Black Day’ for the people of Dakshina Kannada, as Vijaya Bank which launched in the district ceases to exist,” he said.

“We all should pledge to reverse the merger of Vijaya Bank. Today we are symbolically protesting against the merger of Vijaya Bank. We will fight until we get justice. The employees of Vijaya Bank are in tears. Their tears will be a curse for the BJP, ” Mithun Rai said.

“Vijaya Bank was the district’s contribution to the country’s development. The Congress, if voted to power, will ensure that the merger of Vijaya Bank will not take place,” Rai added.

Former minister Ramanath Rai said the bank was launched by A B Shetty on the day of Vijaya Dashami who dreamt of transforming the bank in order to help the youth of DK to get jobs.

According to the Narasimhan Committee, the banks that were under loss should be merged with banks earning a profit. Accordingly, banks facing loss were merged with the State Bank of India. But Vijaya Bank, a profit-making bank, was merged with a loss-making bank, he added.

Former MLA J R Lobo said April 1 was a ‘Black Day’ for the people of Dakshina Kannada. The half-hearted attempts by seven BJP MLAs and an MP, could not stop the merger of banks. “BJP is against the people of DK, they have not taken any measures to create jobs,” Lobo charged.

The protesters wore black badges.