Thwart UPA Govt’s Backdoor Privatisation

CITU Denounces Disinvestment Move In Profitable PSUs

THE Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) denounced the ongoing move to dilute the government stake in the profit-making public sector units as reported by various newspapers. As per reports BHEL, Powergrid Corporation, Power Finance Corporation etc are in the primary hit list of the disinvestments exercise and the entire initiative appears to be for bridging the budgetary gaps.

In a statement issued by the CITU secretariat on November 22, it stated “such selling off of family-assets for daily expenses and foregoing recurring flow of dividend for one time cash can in no way be considered as prudent economy-management and the government must refrain from such short-cut measures.” It asserted that such back-door, creeping privatisation through dilution of stakes in profitable PSUs by the government militates against the spirit of CMP.

The National Common Minimum Programme ruled out privatisation of profit-making PSUs.  The CMP, of course, mentioned about the possibility of profit-making PSUs accessing the capital market for resource generation, if so required. The trade unions, particularly the CITU, opposed such provision in the CMP.

The CITU noted that the PSUs shortlisted by the government for fast-track equity dilution do not satisfy even those stipulations of the CMP in reality.  “The union industry ministry has gone on record that BHEL does not require funds warranting sale of 16 per cent shares in the market but still okayed the equity sale in that company of which 33 per cent shares are already in private hands, both domestic and foreign. Similarly Powergrid Corporation is a cash-rich company and does not require to sell shares to generate resources for internal use, given its high creditability in the market. Same is the case with Power Finance Corporation. It appears that the finance ministry has drawn up the blue print to sell out shares of the profit making PSUs up to 49 per cent one by one, for the time being, given the hurdles laid down in CMP”, stated the CITU.

The CITU also denounced the government move to sell-off residual government stake in Balco to Sterlite. It felt that instead of such a favour being made to Sterlite, the government should have penalised the company for its gross violation of Shareholders Agreement on various counts, the details of which are already with the government.

The CITU urged upon the UPA government to refrain from such retrograde exercise of selling out shares in profit-making PSUs and called upon the working class and the trade union movement to unitedly act to thwart such designs of creeping privatisation through backdoor. (INN)