Banking services affected partially due to strike call by two unions
New Delhi: Banking operations in some parts of the country were affected on Tuesday as two employee-unions are observing a nation-wide strike.
Some of the services like cash deposit and withdrawal at the counter and cheque clearances have been impacted due to the strike by banking staff.
Public sectors bank branches in urban areas of the country are, however, operational as officers these banks are not part of strike.
Most of the banks including SBI had informed their customer about strike call given by All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) to protest against bank mergers and fall in deposit rates.
Merger of banks is totally unwarranted in India as we need more banking services and opening of more branches to serve the people, AIBEA General Secretary C H Venkatachalam said.
"The merger has so far resulted in closure of branches and hence it is a wrong policy. Recovery of the huge bad loans is the top priority for banks, and merger will change the priority. Hence it is a bad idea," he added.
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Time will reveal if leadership change in Karnataka is imminent: Shivakumar
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said time will tell if the state will see a new CM after the by-elections to two assembly seats.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
"Why are you worried about it? There is no need to make it an issue... I have already said that time will answer it," Shivakumar told reporters in response to a question about whether he would become the CM and if there would be a leadership change after the bypolls.
Responding to statements by some leaders, including Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, that incumbent Siddaramaiah will be CM till 2028, he said, "I'm not ready to comment on statements made by others. I'm the party president... either the CM or I will have to speak on this matter. Other than what the two of us say, the rest is immaterial."
Asked about the secret behind his patience, Shivakumar replied, "Time will answer."
Recently, Siddaramaiah had said that the Congress government will remain in power for two more years and that he is the Chief Minister of the state.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025.
The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
