Niti Aayog acting as an agent to sell Indian PSUs, says RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh

RSS affiliate labour union Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has alleged that the government think tank Niti Aayog is acting as a mere agent to facilitate indiscriminate sale of public sector assets. The criticism has come at a time when the government expects to reduce its fiscal deficit through disinvestment.

The resolution adopted by BMS at a national convention of the employees of Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) on December 19 in New Delhi said the government is killing the duck that lays the golden egg by initiating the strategic sale of its PSU assets through its policies on privatisation, disinvestment, and strategic sale of Central Public Sectors.

"The pro-privatisation lobby painted all the PSUs as inefficient. It is also making false propaganda that the entire PSU sector is in loss, which is utterly false. PSUs performed well. In 2017-18, the overall profit of the CPSUs was Rs 1,28,374 crore, and they paid Rs 76,578 crore as a dividend. Statistics reveal that the jobs created by PSUs are more than those by the private sector. Hence, the government is killing the duck that lays golden egg. Previously Planning Commission has played a great role in defining the role of each and every sector in India, including public, private sectors and thus tried to shape India's future. After NITI ayog replaced Planning Commission, all such serious exercises were stopped and it is working merely as an agent to facilitate strategic sale," Virjesh Upadhyay, General Secretary, BMS ays.

According to BMS, government's resources got depleted because of mindless (tax) concessions given to big corporate and also spending on many useful welfare schemes. "Hence the government is in search of funds. The easiest way is to sell PSUs, which are the national wealth created by our predecessors. Its lopsided Policies against PSUs include Privatisation, Disinvestment, Strategic Sale of Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPUs), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Merger of Banking and Insurance Sectors, Corporatisation of Railways, Defense Production Units, and PLI in Postal etc. Previously government wanted to sell loss-making units, but found that no sensible parties are ready to buy loss-making units. So now new policy is to sell hot selling profit making PSUs. It is not good economics," Upadhyay said.

The convention wanted the government to immediately start wage negotiations, clear salary/wages/retirement benefits, revival / diversification of sick PSUs, pension revision for retired BSNL, MTNL etc. It also wanted the government to immediately find ways to generate revenue by other means and withdraw the huge spending on unnecessary corporate concessions.

The Public Sector Coordination Committee of BMS comprises BMS unions of sectors such as banking, insurance, coal, non-coal, steel, port, dock, and shipyard, Railway, defence, postal, and PSENC (Public Sector Employees National Confederation) comprising telecom, oil sectors, aviation, coins & currency, FCI, NHPC, Power Grid, GAIL, BHEL, NALCO, NLC, HAL, HMT, BEL, ITI, BDL, ALIMCO, BALMER LAWRIE, HNL, FACT, IREL, ECIL, NEEPCO, THDC, Instrumentation, BSNL/MTNL and other PSUs.

BMS will hold a day long dharna on January 3, 2020 at all the district Headquarters on the theme "Save PSUs, Save Nation". It will also wait for government action till Budget session. In case the government continues with its policy, BMS will decide the next course of action, the resolution said.

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