Election rallies and rhetoric often go hand in hand, but sometimes the political parties go a step ahead and speak- a plain white lie. Karnataka’s state assembly election is no different. On an everyday basis, we hear that the opposition parties are making hollow promises to entice voters. On the same note, Congress Rajya Sabha member and social media chief Jairam Ramesh blamed the BJP and Modi governments for taking away the “independence” of the five public sector banks that were originally founded in the state of Karnataka.
Jairam Ramesh tweeted on May 7, “ Vijaya, Corporation, Syndicate, Canara and State Bank of Mysore. They were all once a tribute to the entrepreneurship of Kannadigas. The work culture and local knowledge of these banks ensured a better connection with financial needs of the people of Karnataka. Sadly, thanks to Modi Govt, they no longer exist as independent entities.”
Later he asked the people of Karnataka to not vote for BJP.
This tweet by Jairam Ramesh garnered more than 2000 retweets and thousands of likes.
In the above tweet, Mr Ramesh is insinuating that the Modi government took away the autonomy and self-reliance of the banks that were once born in Karnataka. He is also cautious about the future of the Nandini Milk Corporation.
So, is there an iota of truth in the fearmongering by Jairam Ramesh? Let’s find out.
Fact- Check
We started our fact-checking process with a Google search about Vijaya Bank and we found out that Vijaya Bank was established in Mangalore, Karnataka, in 1931. Mr A.B. Shetty started the bank; hence, it has been a private organisation since its inception. However, in the 1960s, the Congress government and Indira Gandhi began to nationalise banks, and the Vijaya Bank became a government corporation as part of the second wave of nationalisation. It means that the Vijaya Bank’s independence was robbed during the Congress era. In 1980, Vijaya Bank became a public-sector bank.
To keep our readers abreast of the facts, the process of transforming a private holding bank into a public stake, effectively expanding the government’s involvement in the banking sector, is known as the nationalisation of banks. The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act of 1970 was used to execute bank nationalisation. The ordinance went into effect on July 19, 1969.
According to Zee Business, Vijaya Bank was nationalised in 1980, Corporation Bank in 1980, Syndicate Bank in 1969, Canara Bank was nationalised in 1969, and State Bank of Mysore became a subsidiary of State Bank of India in 1960.
Moreover, 20 banks before the nationalisation of banks were private entities except for the State Bank of India. But, the subsequent Congress government took their “independence” nature and brought them under the clutches of the central government. However, in 2019, the finance minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced bank mergers with the aim of “Strong national presence and global reach.”
According to the Hindustan Times, Vijaya Bank was merged with the Bank of Baroda. The Corporation Bank was merged into the Union Bank of India. Syndicate Bank was merged with Canara Bank. The state bank of Mysore was consolidated into the State Bank of India.
With his tweet, Jairam Ramesh claimed that just like the five banks, the Modi government would take over Nandini Milk, which is Karnataka’s local dairy co-operative company is misleading. The finance ministry under Modi govt. allowed the merging of the banks in 2019 since they were not “Independent entities,” but rather government banks nationalised by the previous Congress government. Karnataka Bank, for example, is a private bank that was founded in 1924, in the state of Karnataka, but was not nationalised like other banks, therefore, it was not merged with any other bank in 2019.
Also Read: Fact Check: Debunking Al Jazeera anti-India propaganda
One is left wondering why Mr Ramesh is misleading the people of India. And, if we follow the pattern and narratives during the Karnataka election, they’re identical to the British divide-and-rule formula. However, the only fact is here to serve its readers by dismantling the nefarious design purported by the enemies of India.
| Claim | Because of the Modi government, five banks from Karnataka are no longer independent entities. |
| Claimed by | Jairam Ramesh |
| Fact check | Misleading |
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