New Delhi: Communist Party of India (CPI) leader and Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam would vehemently oppose Modi government’s move to sell PSUs and lease out profitable airports to private companies in the upcoming budget session that kicks off on January 31.
Stating that BJP talks about nationalism and national pride but has carried on the policy of mindless privatisation selling off public sector units (PSUs) and public assets, the veteran Left leader said that he will strongly oppose the government plan.
“We always do it, we are continuously doing it and we will continue to do it. It is shame on the government. It always talks about nationalism, national pride, and they are selling every national wealth to somebody else. And most of them are from foreign countries,” the Rajya Sabha member told Top Lead India.
He noted that government had readied plans to sell even profit-making PSUs like BPCL and vowed to fight against it.
Ever since BJP government came to power in May 2014, it has been aggressively pushing sale of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). As per official data available on the website of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the Modi government has since 2014-15 mopped up Rs 2.97 lakh crore from sale of government holding in various CPSEs.
The proceeds have come from sale of minority shareholding, majority shareholding of one CPSE to another CPSE, strategic sale and sale of residual shareholding in disinvested CPSEs.
In the current financial year, it has raised Rs 18,094 crore as against its target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore. As the proceeds from disinvestment is far below the target and overall tax collection tepid in the face of economic slowdown, the government has become desperate in finding new source of revenue. It has even taken away the surplus fund of RBI to bridge its budget deficit.
“This government speaks about nationalism but its actions are anti-national,” Viswam said.
The government has identified as many as 28 CPSEs and their subsidiaries for sell-off. The Union cabinet in late November last year gave in-principle approval for privatization or stake sale in five PSUs including Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) and BPCL.
Apart from these, it has lined up six airports for leasing them out to private companies despite opposition from several quarters including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). The nodal Civil Aviation Ministry is currently in the process of finalising the cabinet note for approval.
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