TLI Staff
New Delhi: Fighting tooth and nail against the government move to lease out almost a dozen of profit-making airports, the employee unions of state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) would launch a sit-in protest on Thursday at Jantar Mantar, barely a mile away from the Parliament.
The agitation is set to cause embarrassment to the Modi government which has been posed some tough questions on PSU sell-off in both the Houses of the Parliament.
Opposition parties led by Congress have attacked the government over its privatization overdrive saying the policy is wrong and ill-thought.
AAI is one of the 28 PSUs which are either proposed to be sold lock, stock and barrel or part of their assets.
AAI employees have accused the government of privatising airports without consulting them who are the key stakeholders. They have taken up the matter with Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) too but no reassuring words have come so far from them.
They have though received support from Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), an RSS affiliate that powers ruling BJP at grassroot level.
It is not clear if the government would back down on privatization under pressure from BMS but recent political developments in the country could certainly force government to rethink some of its decisions.
BJP’s oldest ally Shiv Sena last month broke 30-year ties with it and joined hands with arch rivals NCP and Congress to form government in Maharashtra. Its state governments in Goa and Karnataka could any day be surprised by the rivals.
Political pundits are predicting tough fight in Jharkhand with BJP unlikely to repeat its previous strike rate in the mineral-rich state.
Political front aside, the Modi government has been facing the real heat on economy which continues to falter.
The GDP growth fell to over six year-low of 4.5 per cent in July-September quarter. Many macro indicators such as households savings, investment, manufacturing and employment have been sliding southward.
The prevailing political and economic situations should force the government to review its decisions but given the past record it may not hesitate to make blunder while calling it bold move.
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