The Communist Party of India’s trade union AITUC on Thursday urged the Central Government to withdraw from taking shares in private telecom companies having large tax dues.
Citing the Vodafone Idea (Vi) move to issue the Government 35.8% shares to swap its around two lakh crore rupees dues, the AITUC national secretariat termed it as a criminal and anti-people step when the Government’s telecom companies like BSNL and MTNL are facing lack of resources and millions of people are starving in the country.
“Why this largesse to these TSPs (telecom service providers), when the Government's own BSNL and MTNL are starved to death? Why buy shares of a bankrupt company when the Government swears by the philosophy "the government has no business to be in business"? Why give up what is due to the Government by way of taxes and then float the insidious scheme like the National Monetization Pipeline(NMP) allegedly to raise funds for new infrastructure? What if the corporates lapping up Government assets coming out of the NMP turn around saying we cannot pay the agreed lease rent? Will the government then shamelessly announce the mother of all reforms?
“AITUC condemns this deal as a criminal act on the part of the Government. The Government has no right to go about waiving off taxes like this when multitude of our people are reeling under pathetic living conditions. We demand that the Government simply withdraw this anti-people step,” said AITUC in a statement.
Soon after Vodafone's decision to allot 35.5 percent shares to Government in lieu of dues in spectrum usage fee and sharing of revenue per call, Tata Telesevices also offered 9.5 percent shares to Government to liquidate their dues of more than Rs.12,500 crore. Only Airtel agreed on Government offer for four year moratorium on dues payment with interest.