AP cabinet wants Centre to retain name of Andhra Bank

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday demanded that the Centre retain the name of Andhra Bank, in the wake of the move to merge it with Union Bank of India and Corporation Bank.

The cabinet passed a resolution in this regard as ministers denounced the move to erase Andhra Banks name through the merger.

"We have passed a resolution that Andhra Banks name be retained even if the bank is amalgamated with other banks.

The chief minister is writing to the Prime Minister on this," Information Minister Perni Venkata Ramaiah told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

All parties in Andhra Pradesh have decried the Centres plan to merge Andhra Bank with other banks, saying the bank reflected the sentiments of Telugu people.

While the ruling YSR Congress was the first to demand that Andhra Banks name be retained, the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party joined the chorus.

The Left parties staged protests deploring merger move.

They demanded that Andhra Banks name be retained if the merger became inevitable.

In the historic coastal town of Machilipatnam, where Andhra Bank took birth on November 23, 1923, the bank staff too joined the protests against the merger.