Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of selling the country’s assets to private players at throwaway prices, raising the issue of corporatisation of the railway coach factory in her constituency Rae Bareli and calling it the “first step towards privatisation”.

Sonia raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, a rare occasion when the UPA chairperson had drawn the attention of the House to issues concerning her constituency. Reading out in Hindi, she said the government had decided to corporatise six railway production units, including Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareli.

“Those who don’t understand the real meaning of corporatisation, it is actually the first step towards privatisation. They are selling the country’s assets to a handful of private players at a throwaway price. This will leave thousands unemployed,” Sonia said, as Congress MPs thumped their desks.

She said the coach factory in Rae Bareli was set up during the UPA government’s term to promote “make in India” and said the unit had been manufacturing the “best coaches” at the “cheapest prices”. Sonia wondered why the government wanted to corporatise the factory when it was making a profit.

Sonia suggested parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s move to corporatise Modern Coach Factory, adding that the future of around 2,000 workers was in danger.

“Can we not expect parliamentary scrutiny of such decisions?” she asked. “The primary job of the public sector units is people’s welfare and not to benefit capitalists,” Sonia added.

The Congress leader wondered why the Modi government had done away with the practice of tabling a separate railway budget.