News Analysis India

Tag: Asset monetisation plan

  • Centre’s asset monetisation plan is in public interest: BJP’s Arun Singh 

    By PTI

    MATHURA: Defending the Centre’s asset monetisation plan, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said it is in public interest and that previous governments did not have the courage to implement a similar policy.

    “Previous governments have also been making efforts to go for monetisation,” he told reporters here on Sunday. Be it the UPA government or under the Congress, efforts were made in every budget for monetisation, but they never could implement it, Singh added.

    Refuting opposition allegations of selling the country, the BJP general secretary said this government works on the principle of “maximum governance, minimum government” and running industry is not the business of the government.

    The money raised through asset monetisation would be utilised for the welfare of the poor and for development of the country, he asserted.

    Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled a National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors — from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums.

    The country now has the maximum foreign reserves owing to the faith people have placed in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said.

    The BJP leader was in town to interact with people on the progress the state has made under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath.

    Since a stable government acts as the nucleus of development for any state, the revival of the Adityanath government is in the interest of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP leader stated.

    UP has made tremendous progress under the leadership of Adityanath in every field during the last four and a half years, he claimed.

    According to him, Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi are turning into tourist hubs, owing to virtually overhauled infrastructure in these cities.

    On price rise, he said there has been a hike in prices of certain commodities.

    However, Singh said, since the overall inflation rate is under control and since the government is working in this direction, people would see a change shortly.

    Running 119 sugar mills in the state and payment of arrears to sugarcane growers among other steps show the commitment of this government towards the welfare of farmers, he added.

  • BJP selling what Congress created in 70 years, Centre’s asset monetisation plan will destroy entire generation: Pawan Khera 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Thursday hit out at the Narendra Modi government over its recently-announced asset monetisation plan, saying that the BJP was selling what the Congress created in 70 years, and if the Centre was not stopped, an entire generation would get destroyed.

    He said the BJP government has announced a “clearance sale” of the assets as the country was not important for it.

    Addressing a press conference at the Gujarat Congress headquarters here, Khera said the Centre’s plan to sell or lease out public infrastructure would only create a monopoly in key sectors, something that the previous Congress-led governments always avoided.

    “If we do not stop them now, an entire generation will be destroyed. Before coming to power in 2014, BJP used to ask what Congress did during the last 70 years. The answer is the list of assets which you are now selling. While we built India in those 70 years, BJP is now busy selling India,” he alleged.

    “There is a difference between the previous Congress governments and the BJP dispensation. A sensible government always takes care that strategic sectors do not slip into the hands of a few. No sensible government encourages monopoly. But, for the BJP government, the country is not important. They just think about votes and making BJP the world’s richest party,” he said.

    Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently unveiled an ambitious Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors – from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums.

    As many as 25 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports, 40 railway stations, 15 railway stadiums and an unidentified number of railway colonies have been identified for getting private investments.

    Khera said that Congress leaders will tour the entire country against the Centre’s monetisation plan and spread awareness among the masses about its drawbacks.

    “The government has announced a clearance sale of the country’s assets and they are now claiming that they are giving these assets on lease. Those who buy will take loans from banks. That means our assets will be purchased using our own money and then they will return those assets back after extracting everything,” he added.

    People as well as the media need to raise their voice if they want to stop the country from getting sold, he urged.

    Without taking names, Khera said the scheme will only fill up the pockets of selected industrialists who are an example of BJP’s “crony capitalism” system.

    “Time has come to seek answers. Assets worth Rs 60 lakh crore are being given to a selected few for just Rs 6 lakh crore, which is also given to them by the BJP government,” said Khera.

    He said that although the Modi government has so far earned Rs 23 lakh crore from the hike in fuel price, the money was not spent on any pro-people work.

    On the issue of polarisation, the senior Congress leader accused the BJP of diverting the attention of people from key issues by raising communal points.

    He accused the BJP of creating “faultlines” between communities for being in power.