Banking services were partially affected on Thursday across the country as more than six lakh public sector employees went on flash strike as part of their protest against the clearing the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill.

Four bank unions, viz. All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officials Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) participated in the flash strike.

Striking employees argue that the Bill is totally unfair because it will allow easy merger of existing banks, and increase private investors voting rights in the public sector banks.

AIBEA General Secretary Mr. Utagi said, "We will oppose this move even after the Bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha. The merger of public sector banks will serve the interest of big corporates only."

On the other hand, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram claims that the amendments to the Bill are necessary to enable India create world-size banks.

The controversial Bill hikes shareholders' voting rights from 10% to 26%, and also hiked the cap on private investors' voting in public sector banks from 1% to 10%. Mr. Chidambaram claims that it will encourage investors to make more investments in the banking sector. The Bill will allow the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to supersede boards of private sector banks.