Rahul Gandhi on Monday suggested the Narendra Modi government knew only to sell, not to build, attacking the Centre’s privatisation drive that he said hurt the public and helped only crony capitalists.
“Banana nahin, sirf bechna jaanta hai (Can’t build, knows only to sell),” Rahul tweeted. “India is against privatisation which hurts the public and benefits only the crony capitalists.”
Rahul did not name the Prime Minister but the allusion to Modi was clear as he tagged a report that explained how the Centre planned to divest shares in four major airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
The plan to monetise the assets gathered steam after Modi declared the “government had no business to be in business”.
On Monday, the Congress ran a social media campaign against privatisation, recalling how Modi’s theme song in the run-up to the 2014 general election went: “Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki, desh nahin bikne dunga (I swear by this earth that I won’t let the country be sold).”
The Congress has been painting the Modi government as a sales agent with the slogan: “Jo mile bech do (Sell whatever you can lay your hands on).”
Congress governments too had divested public sector units in the past but the party opposes the sale of profit-making units such as the LIC, ONGC, BPCL and the like.
On Monday, the Congress also highlighted the nature of the acquisition of airports, ports and other assets that it said were creating dangerous monopolies by a handful of industrialists.
“They are dedicated to an asset-free India, not Congress-free India. It is incumbent on every citizen to fight against this ‘sell the country’ campaign by the Modi government. People have to choose between Modi bhakti and rashtra bhakti,” party communications chief Randeep Surjewla said.
He also issued a statement on privatisation as bank unions began a two-day strike from Monday.
“Today the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine bank unions, called for a two-day nationwide strike on March 15 and 16 against the privatisation of public sector banks and retrograde banking reforms,” he said.
“We stand in solidarity with 10 lakh bank officials and staff participating in the strike.... There is no rationale for selling state-owned lenders to private lenders — foreign or domestic. This is yet again a desperate attempt to meet the disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.
“Even experts like former RBI governor Dr Raghuram Rajan have... red-flagged it by calling it a ‘colossal mistake’. The whole idea of bank nationalisation, a bold step taken by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was to bring banking closer to every Indian.
“The aim was to make banks and loans available even for those who do not meddle in High Street finance. PSU banks are not just profit-making ventures; they have been in the past used as vehicles of social reform.
“A very large part of our population lives in rural areas and is involved in agriculture. We need public sector banks for outreach and to ensure banking is more accessible to (people) in villages and smaller towns, which aren’t high on the priority list of private lenders.
“What we really need is higher accountability of public sector banks and not their outright sale. Public sector banks have been at the forefront of lending to the priority sectors like public infrastructure roads and also rural areas, which need financing.”
