BALCO deal put on hold

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 23. Fierce opposition to the BALCO-Sterlite deal today forced the Government to agree to put off finalising the sale agreement till the matter was discussed in Parliament. For the second day the issue rocked Parliament forcing adjournments in both the Houses.

A determined Opposition raised its voice against the Government's decision to sell its 51 per cent equity in BALCO to Sterlite for Rs. 550 crores, charging that the profit-making public sector firm was being sold cheap. The treasury benches were not allowed to have their say, and had to defend themselves outside the House.

Relenting to sustained pressure with some Opposition members moving a motion for discussion in both Houses under rules which entail voting, the Government said the discussion in the Rajya Sabha would be on Tuesday and in the Lok Sabha on March 1.

Immediately after question hour, members were on their feet in both the Houses demanding that the sale agreement be kept in abeyance till the House discussed it. The Congress, the Left, and the RJD members were the most vocal.

The pleas of the LoK Sabha Speaker, the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Ministers fell on deaf ears and no one was willing to even listen to the Government's view. Later, the business advisory committees of the two Houses decided the dates for discussion.

Charges refuted

At a press conference later, the Disinvestment Minister, Mr. Arun Shourie, rebutted the charges against the Government and regretted the lack of opportunity to present his case in Parliament. Seeking to set the record straight, Mr. Shourie, said the Cabinet's decision was in consonance with the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission. The Government would submit all documents to the Comptroller and Accountant General once the agreement with Sterlite was finalised.

Throwing down the gauntlet, Mr. Shourie challenged the critics of the deal to get a better offer and ``we will find a way to cancel this'' and give BALCO's equity to the higher bidder. Giving copious details on the process followed to privatise BALCO, the Minister, however, ruled out a white paper on the subject as demanded by the Opposition. In an indirect broadside at the Congress, he commended the disinvestment process in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, ruled by the Congress.

He also indicated that while Parliament could discuss the matter, the Government was not ready to give up its ``executive privilege''. The agreement, which was to be finalised on February 26, would now be put on hold till the discussion in Parliament.

Mr. Shourie promised a full statement in Parliament ``when given a chance'' and said a ``think paper'' on disinvestment was being prepared. He rejected transparency during the process of working out disinvestment deal on the ground that this would not be practical.

The Congress spokesperson, Mr. S. Jaipal Reddy, said the party's opposition was confined to short-selling a profit- making PSU. ``The Government is in a devilish hurry to receive the cheque from Sterlite for reasons best known to it.'' Mr. Reddy said an internal assessment by the Finance Ministry had assessed BALCO's worth at Rs. 2,000 crores in 1998 and pointed out that the firm had a 280 MW captive power plant worth nearly Rs. 2,000 crores.

In a related development, the BJP spokesperson, Mr. V. K. Malhotra, took exception to the threat by the Chattisgarh Chief Minister, Mr. Ajit Jogi, to cancel all mining leases granted to BALCO if the deal was hurried through. ``If he insists, there are Constitutional remedies,'' he hinted terming the threat an ``attack on the federal character of the Constitution''.

PIL filed in HC

PTI reports:

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation filed in the Delhi High Court by advocate Mr. B. L. Wadhera, challenged the Government's decision to sell 51 per cent of its stake in BALCO to the Mumbai- based Sterlite industries. The matter is likely to come up for hearing on Monday.

According to the PIL, BALCO, which had a surplus fund of Rs. 460 crores, had been earning a net profit of Rs. 110 crores annually.

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