VIJAYAWADA: The Centre’s move to merge Andhra Bank with Union Bank of India was resented by the people in the state as it deals with Telugu pride and the sentiment.
Reflecting the people’s sentiment, Congress senior leader K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao wrote a letter to the Union minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman stating that the Andhra Bank was founded in 1923 by Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetharamayya who was a famous freedom fighter and close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and added that it was the only nationalised bank founded in AP and was considered as pride of Telugu speaking people for the last 96 years.
He urged the Union minister to take a firm decision to continue Andhra Bank as a public sector undertaking bank and asked her to retain the name of Andhra Bank to the group of banks proposed to be merged with Andhra Bank in case merger was inevitable so that the move would serve as a testimony to the contribution of freedom fighter Bhogaraju Pattabhi Seetharammayya to the banking sector in the country.
He reminded the Union finance minister that as the Centre was ignoring the sentiment of Telugu people by denying implementation of several assurances in the aftermath of bifurcation of state, he wanted her to at least retain the name of Andhra Bank as she was the daughter-in-law of AP.
YSR Congress MP from Machilipatnam Vallab-haneni Balashowry dashed off a letter to both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to Union minister for finance Nirmala Sitharaman condemning the Centre’s move to merge Andhra Bank into UBI by saying that it would hurt the Telugu sentiment and pride.
