New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi Tuesday opposed the BJP-led NDA government’s bid to privatise the railway’s Modern Coach Factory in her constituency Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, and accused it of trying to sell it for a pittance.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said privatisation of the factory would result in job loss and defeat the whole purpose for which it was set up.
“The real concern is that they have chosen Modern Coach Factory for the experiment…I urge the government to protect the Modern Coach Factory and other PSUs and give respect to the farmers and their families,” she said.
Referring to India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru and how he had called Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) “temples of modern India”, Gandhi said, “It hurts to see that most of such temples are in danger today. Despite profits, their employees are not being given salary on time and they have been put in trouble to benefit some industrialists.”
Gandhi also drew the attention of the Lok Sabha to the weak financial condition of state-run PSUs such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
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Shouldn’t we demand an inquiry, asks Sonia
The Modern Coach Factory, Gandhi said, was set up by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government to boost manufacturing.
“It is one of the most modern plants that makes good quality coaches at cheap prices. I don’t know why this government wants to privatise it. Shouldn’t we demand an inquiry by a parliamentary committee in the matter?” she asked.
The former Congress president said the government has not taken the employees of the factory into confidence before taking such a decision and claimed that their future is in danger.
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