July 14, 2019
State Cabinet ministers come down heavily on the Centre’s privatisation move
After the Trinamool Congress MPs raised the issue in Parliament on July 8, senior cabinet ministers of the Bangla Government too came down heavily on the move by the Centre to privatise 42 public sector units (PSU), which includes some of the biggest companies in the country, employing lakhs of people.
Trinamool MLAs moved a motion in the Assembly, protesting against the decision taken by the Centre. The Opposition too supported the move and echoed the voice of the State Government on the Centre’s stand.
As part of the motion, the State Power Minister said that as many as 26 PSUs have been liquidated by the BJP-led government in the last five years, and many more will be liquidated in the course of time.
What the prime minister said on privatisation is a dangerous trend – that the government’s job is to run the government and not do business, further said the motion, and that selling out PSUs is an attempt by the Centre to hide their failure.
The motion also criticised the decision of encouraging foreign investments at the cost of public sector units. It went on to criticise the Centre for changing the labour law, thereby infringing upon the rights of the workers. The workers have been denied bonus and gratuity. Even the right to strike for the workers has been withdrawn.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said that that various Centre-owned units are being sold at a lower price and unemployment is gradually going up in the country. The matter would be discussed with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he also said.
Source: Millennium Post
