Mangaluru, Jan 6: Congress leader Ivan D'Souza will undertake a day-long fast Tuesday against the merger of Vijaya Bank with the Bank of Baroda.

D'Souza told reporters here Sunday that the merger decision had challenged the self-respect of the people of Dakshina Kannada where Vijaya bank started its operations.

Vijaya bank, which began with the vision of helping farmers and the poorer sections of society, was earning profits during the last two years and had declared dividends to its customers in 2017, the MLC said.

The BJP representative of Dakshina Kannada in parliament had not raised their voice against the merger, he claimed.

The Congress would also hold protests against the merger in front of all the branches of Vijaya Bank here in co-operation with its employees on January 10, D'Souza said.

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Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.

This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.

Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.

Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.

Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.

Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.

Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.

CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.