 Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sept 1: Former Union Minister and Senior All India Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai has said that BJP Govt. has put the national assets on grand clearance sale through National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), which he described as "Modi Mudra Pipeline Scheme", stating that this will have grave negative consequences for the nation.
Addressing a Press Conference at PCC HQ Shaheedi Chowk Jammu, today along with JKPCC Chief G.A. Mir and a galaxy of Senior leaders including Former Ministers and Vice Presidents Mula Ram, Raman Bhalla, Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, General Secretaries Th. Balwan Singh, Yogesh Sawhney, Th. Manmohan Singh, Co-treasurer Rajnish Sharma, DCC President Jammu(R) Hari Singh Chib besides others, Sahai said that there is a genuine concern that the NMP which lead to monopolies (or, at best, duopolies) in key sectors such as ports, airports, solar power, telecom, natural gas pipeline, petroleum pipeline and warehousing.
Asserting that a big lie has been exposed, the former Union Minister said that the Prime Minister Narindwer Modi and his Ministers have vociferously denounced the Congress Govt. and all other previous Governments, including, ironically, Atal Behari Vajpayee Govt. for doing nothing and building nothing for 70 years, as if India had attained Independence only in May 2014. However, on August 23, 2021 when the Finance Minister released a list of assets that were proposed to be monetized. She failed to disclose when those assets were built. Transfer is, during the maligned 70 tears, he added.
Sahai raised serious question on the process and manner in which Modi Govt. operates reflecting it as a conspiratorial manner, as there were no discussions in the Parliament, there was no draft paper on NMP, there were no consultations with the stake holders, especially the employees and trade unions and the policy was hacked in secrecy and announced suddenly.
Referring the long list of assets proposed to be monetized by the Central Govt., the Senior Congress leaders said that by a stroke of pen, Modi and his Finance Minister have threatened to reduce India's Public Sector assets to near zero. They claimed that the Govt. will collect a rent of 1.50, 000 crore as rent per year and hold on to a piece of paper that it is the owner of the assets. They also boost that the assets will return to the Govt. at the end of the transfer period.
Pointing out glaring absence of criteria in the collection of PSUs brought under the NMP, he said that the annual revenue currently being yielded by the choosen assets, has not been disclosed, there is no clarity on jobs and reservations, whether the present number of jobs ibn the monetized units will be maintained and eventually enhanced will reservation of SC, ST and OBCs be maintained or abolished, he questioned .
The Former Union Minister said that the policy of disinvestment and privatization has evolved over the years since 1991 but certain criteria was also set for choosing the units to be privatized.
He said that there is every possibility that the prices will rise in many sectors, as once monetized, the PSUs will ceased to be price stabilizer in the market. There is down to be price fixing and cartelization. This has been count to be true in the so called competitive market in cement. The united kingdom was shaked to find it true in the banking industry.
Stating that nothing has been spared, Sahai read out the long list of assets to be monetized by the Modi Govt. including roads (26700 Kms.), Hydle & Solar Power Assets(6000 MW), Natural Gas Pipe Lines (8154 Kms.), Petroleum Products Pipeline(3930 Kms.), Warehousing Assets (210,00000 Mts.), Railway Stations (400 ), Passenger Trains Operations (90), Goods Sheds (265), Konkan Railway & Dedicated Freight Corridor, 286000 fiber and 14917 telecom towers, 25 airports and 31 projects in 9 major ports, and 2 national stadia. |
