Mangaluru: Former minister Ramanatha Rai has alleged that the Union Government has decided to merge the profit making Vijaya Bank with the loss making Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda with the objective of protecting the interests of the rich capitalists.

Speaking to reporters at the party office here on September 24, Monday, Rai said Vijaya Bank with a 87 year long history has close bond with the district. There was an instance once when its staff had protected the bank which incurred loss by forgoing their salary. It is not proper to merge such a bank, said Rai.

“The NDA government was only interested in protecting the interests of the rich. UPA government had waived Rs 72,000 crore loans of farmers while the present government has written off Rs 2 lakh crore loans of industrialists,” said Rai.

He also questioned the silence of BJP MLAs and MPs of the district over the bank merger issue.

Mayor Bhasker K, former mayors Kavitha Sanil, Shashidhar Hegde, and other party leaders were present.