Hours after Narendra Modi Government gave its in-principle approval to the strategic disinvestment of five public sector units, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the step was a prelude to “disinvestment of India,” and called for an all-party meeting to tide over the economic crisis that India was currently in.
Speaking to reporters at Behrampore, Banerjee on Thursday said that such knee-jerk strategies will at best provide for a temporary pain relief and not a complete eradication of the financial crisis that India was in.
She said “such steps can only give you temporary relief by bringing in some funds but it will never handle the problem permanently,” and advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call an all-party meeting to get over the crisis.
“Instead of such hasty steps to sell Government units which is nothing but a temporary measure the Prime Minister should call an all-party meeting so as to devise a permanent solution to the ongoing crisis that India is facing … I hope the Prime Minister will consult the experts during this hour of crisis,” Banerjee said adding “if the Government continues to take such reactive measures then one day they will end up selling all the PSUs … they will finally sell the whole country … they will disinvest the whole India.”
Earlier the Union Cabinet Committee on Economic affairs had given in-principle approval to the strategic disinvestment in five State-run companies, including a sale of the Government’s entire stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), while retaining its ownership of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) through another public sector company.
The Chief Minister also attacked the Centre for trying to digitise India. “I am not against digitisation but the way they are trying to make India a cashless society it will not augur well for the economy in future,” she said reminding the “horrible experience of demonetization.”
She said demonetisation is still haunting India as “a large number of people are left with very little cash. They are facing problems in small businesses and farming … and now the Government is experimenting with reckless steps of disinvestment. Such steps should be reconsidered.”
Suggesting that the Government should consider “public-private partnership instead of going for a sale and transfer of ownership
Banerjee said, “the Government has to preserve its assets for public welfare otherwise a day will come when the Government will be left with no company. Rather than facing that situation, the Government may consider going for the people pubic partnership model in business.”
Saying that Trinamool Congress never approved of disinvestment and merger of companies she said some companies by rationalisation of employees “employment has come to a halt in several sectors. People are not spending because they don’t have any savings,” Banerjee said the way the Union Government was taking merging banks and transferring headquarters like it did in the case of United Bank of India “it is creating huge problem for State run schemes.”
“A whole lot of state schemes run through UBI. If the headquarter doesn’t remain in this state what will be the future of those schemes?” she asked.