With the government deciding to sell its entire stake in IDBI Bank, it was but natural that a section of employees would use the bank nationalisation day on 19 July to demonstrate outside the main office in Mumbai against the privatisation move.

Around 120 employees and officers of IDBI Bank held placards outside the IDBI Tower at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai. These read: ‘Publish the list of bank loan defaulters’, ‘Take criminal action against wilful defaulters’ and ‘Strengthen public sector banks’, among others.

Similar demonstrations took place outside the main centres of the bank across the country. “All the 1,200 employees along with 16,000 officers of IDBI Bank are opposing the privatisation of the bank,” claimed Ratnakar Wankhede, general secretary of the IDBI Bank Employees Association and the person who led the demonstration.

The government has already announced the privatisation of the bank and its intent to offload its entire stake, along with the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) holding.

Blood camp in Nanded

To commemorate 52 years of bank nationalisation, the local staff of Bank of Maharashtra organised a blood camp in Nanded. Unlike the earlier years, the scale of the operations had to be cut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fifteen people came to donate blood.

Two policemen, students, customers and the bank staff participated in the Guru Govind Singhji blood bank at Nanded, the eighth largest urban agglomeration of Maharashtra. Sagar Sanjay Dixit, a thirty-two-year-old officer, was the driving force behind organising the event along with the help of Dr Borulkar, a private doctor.

Bank of Maharashtra’s Nanded branch was decorated and sweets and flowers were distributed to the customers. Pamphlets highlighting the advantages of bank nationalisation were also distributed.

“The issue of privatisation is a hot topic. I am a strong believer that basic banking activities would not reach the far-flung areas if all the banks are privatised,” said Sagar.

Distribution of Flowers and Sweets

Across states where Covid restrictions were relaxed, customers received sweets and flowers as the bank staff celebrated the day when banks were nationalised on 19 July, 1969 by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

“Bank nationalisation is the most important day in the life of a public sector banker. We celebrated it by distributing sweets and gave roses to our customers. We tell customers that their money is safe if it is with the state-owned banks,” a bank officer said who did not want his name to be revealed.

Wearing Badges

About three lakh bank employees across the country wore badges that talked about the need to continue with nationalised banks.

Due to Covid restrictions, bank employees in Kerala only wore badges and appraised their customers about the ill-effects of bank privatisation.

Demonstrations along with families

To spread awareness among the public about the need to protect state-owned banks from being privatised, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) undertook demonstrations in front of employees’ houses along with their children.

Standing alongside their protesting parents, these children held placards reading “Stop corporate loot”.