PM to talk afresh with allies on divestment
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said he would discuss the issue of stake sales in public sector undertakings before moving forward with divestment plans.
In July, Singh had put on hold all decisions to sell stakes in PSUs after M Karunanidhi-led DMK, a key ally of the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, threatened to pull out of the ruling coalition if the government went ahead with its plans for a public offer in Neyveli Lignite Corporation.
“It is certainly true that we had to put on hold some decisions as there were reservations within partners of the UPA,” Singh said when asked when he planned to lift the pause button on asset sales. “We will talk to our colleagues before we move forward in that direction.”
Recently, the disinvestment department under the finance ministry, too, had written to the Prime Minister’ Office, seeking its direction on the future course of action. Finance minister P Chidambaram had, after presenting his Budget for the current fiscal, said he expected to raise about Rs 5,000 crore from disinvestment proceeds during the year.
The country’s privatisation programme has been held hostage to politics and decisions to sell stakes have been reversed in the past. The coalition’s Communist allies have stalled plans to sell stakes in top PSUs, saying such moves would lead to job losses.
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