Mangaluru, Jan 08: A hunger strike led by MLC Ivan D'Souza has been launched on Tuesday against the merging of City's prestigious bank Vijaya Bank with the Gujarat-based Bank of Baroda, which is running under loss.

The hunger strike began with garlanding of Gandhi's statue in front of the town hall.

Speaking after showering flowers at the statue of Vijaya Bank founder AB Shetty, Ivan D'Souza said that the merging of a bank which is under loss of more than Rs 4,000 crore with an in-profit bank was condemnable.

Vijaya Bank is the proud bank of the coastal region. Merging of a bank, which was pro-people and farmers, and changing its name is an injustice to the coastal region. 

Wearing black ribbons, All India Bank Officers' Association's Mangaluru division President Surendra, MLC Harish Kumar, Deputy Mayor Mohammed K, Shashidhar Hegde, Sadashiv Ullal, Ashok DK, and others participated in the strike.  

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took oath as a Lok Sabha MP on Thursday following her thumping victory from Kerala's Wayanad in a bypoll.

The 52-year-old, who joins her mother Sonia and brother Rahul as an MP in what is a rare instance of three members of a family together in Parliament, took affirmation in Hindi while holding a copy of the Constitution soon after the House met.

Ravindra Chavan (Cong), who won the Nanded bypoll also took oath in Marathi in the name of God. The bypoll was necessitated following the demise of his father Vasantrao Chavan recently.

Priyanka Gandhi took the plunge into active politics in 2019 and was later appointed Congress general secretary. Five years after that, Priyanka Gandhi begins her journey as an elected representative of the people.

With a winning margin of more than 4.1 lakh votes, she surpassed the tally of her brother Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in Kerala.

Priyanka Gandhi's entry into Parliament comes at a difficult time for the party, which has been jolted by electoral defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra. It would be interesting to see if she is able to give a much-needed fillip to the grand old party and help put it back on the electoral track.

Often drawing comparisons with her grandmother Indira Gandhi for their similarity in looks and way of speaking, Priyanka Gandhi has been the go-to campaigner for the party since her entry into active politics and even before that when she campaigned for her mother Sonia and brother Rahul.

Congress leaders from Wayanad handed over the election certificate of the Wayanad parliamentary by-election to Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday and conveyed their best wishes.

Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday won the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll with a thumping margin of over four lakh votes, defeating Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI(M)-led LDF.

 

further details are awaited.