Excelsior Correspondent
SAMBA, Sept 4: Senior Congress leader Thakur Manmohan Singh (PCC Gen Secy) today said that NMP will be used to bolster prospects of selected business houses by the BJP Government.
Addressing a press conference in presence of District president Samba, Sanjeev Sharma and working president Babal Gupta, Manmohan Singh said that BJP Govt at the Centre is furthering `Crony Capitalism’ and creation of Monopolies. He said Modi Government has had a track record of promoting selective few Corporate groups with close ties to BJP.
” It is feared that NMP will be used to bolster the prospects of these business houses. Over the past years, airport operating rights have been transferred to one company only. Similarly, a thriving telecom sector has been reduced to an oligopoly. Wholesale transfer of public assets to select groups will increase inequality and help create monopolies,” he added.
They further said that the undervaluing public assets- Highways, railways and airports have been financed by tax payers through considerable investments spread over a number of years. There is no transparency over the valuation of these assets. The Government should have laid before the people the revenue currently being earned by the different assets.
The unsustainable Revenue Model of the BJP Govt is that “Tax Payer Cheated,” Public assets are being leased for rent. It bears mentioning that money which could be earned over a long period is being realised in the immediate future. “Modi Government wants to appropriate at once all future earnings from assets owned by the taxpayers, but there is no clarity on the compensation offered to the taxpayer,” he added
Congress leaders said that large scale privatization will impact workers’ rights, yet, employees and trade unions were not consulted before the announcement. No draft paper was circulated and no public discussion initiated. This tendency of no consultation has been a hallmark of the Modi Government.
Last year, it promulgated three farm Ordinances without discussions with farmer groups. The primary objective of the public sector is serving people; the profit motive is secondary to the larger development goals. Privatisation of key public sector units/assets may lead to an inflationary impact on people, he regretted.
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