Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110755890400.htm

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Move to disinvest PSUs flayed

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Janata Dal (Secular) vice-president Varughese George has urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to disinvest 10 per cent shares of profit-making public sector undertakings in the country.

Mr. George said in a statement here on Friday that the decision came at a time when PSUs were being strengthened in the wake of economic recession. The announcement that the proceeds from the disinvestment would be utilised for social welfare schemes was not convincing, he said.

He said a share of the profit should be strictly utilised for the purpose. The Planning Commission Vice-Chairman’s announcement that financial institutions in the public sector would be privatised too was a matter of concern, he said.

Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) chairman Cheriyan Philip said in a statement that the decision would lead to slow death of the PSUs. This would lead to total privatisation, he said.

Mr. Philip said that though 51 per cent of the shares would be retained, the companies which acquired 49 per cent of the stakes would swallow the rest.

He accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of going against the policies of Jawaharlal Nehru who described the PSUs as national assets and Indira Gandhi who nationalised banks in the country.