Justifying the disinvestment of 5% shares of Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Union minister V Narayanasamy said the agitation against the move was to gain political mileage.
Addressing reporters on Sunday, he said there was no justification for the opposition against the disinvestment and the trade unions and political parties should give up their agitation against it.
Pointing out that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK leader M Karunanidhi had written to the Centre opposing it, he said that there was nothing new in the disinvestment move, as the 3% to 5% shares of the public sector companies like ONGC, IOC, Steel Authority of India were disinvested in the past.
He added that the funds received from disinvestments were utilized for the development of the firms and also utilized by the central government to implement various welfare and development schemes for the country.
The Central Government was blamed by parties for political gains.
There was no justification for opposing it and trade unions must give up their agitation, he said
It may be recalled that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has cleared the disinvestment of 5% (nearly `446 crore) of the NLC shares.
PMO countered
Tamil Nadu CPM State Secretary G Ramakrishnan, who was here on Sunday, said that Union Minister of State for PMO Narayanasamy’s reasoning for NLC disinvestment, that the money derived would be used for development and welfare schemes, was not justified.
He said that the Central Government had given big corporates and multinational companies huge tax exemptions in the budget. The government could easily raise the amount by taxing these corporates, Ramakrishnan said.