Chennai, May 13 (IANS): The major union in the banking sector All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) on Friday condemned chartered accountant and the Editor of Thuglak Tamil magazine S. Gurumurthy for terming public sector bank employees as scums and filth.

In a function here on May 8, in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Gurumurthy, a Director in Reserve Bank of India (RBI), made a "dirty and derogatory" comment about public sector bankers, C.H.Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA said.

"We strongly condemn his uncalled for comments and demand his immediate apology. He is unfit to be on the Board of RBI and the government should remove him form this important post," Venkatachalam said.

Speaking at the Thuglak magazine's annual function, Gurumurthy said the public sector banks are losing talented officials to the private sector owing to poor pay and lack of freedom.

Only scums and filth are remaining with public sector banks and with them, the country has to compete globally in the financial sector, he said.

Gurumurthy also said that till the government has majority stakes in its banks, it is not possible to encourage talented staff.