Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) opposes the decision of the Vajpayee government to sell 10 per cent of the equity shares of Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL). The decision to sell in the market the equity of these two blue chip public sector companies is a scandalous one. The sole reason for this step is the government’s failure to increase its revenue and the dire necessity to reduce the fiscal deficit. The over Rs. 12,000 crores which will accrue from the sale will go to meet the huge deficit and will in no way benefit these enterprises.
The brazen manner in which the government is selling off valuable public assets exposes the shortcomings in the government’s performance on the economic front. It is nothing but a desperate move to prettify the budget keeping in mind the forthcoming parliament elections.