CHENNAI: Facing the ire of the masses over the demonetisation drive, BJP's ally at the Centre, Shiv Sena, took a cautious sidestep today, backing the government in its intent, but delinking itself from the effect.
"The party is with the people who are angry over the drive," said union minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Anant G Geete, who was in Chennai on Thursday to attend a meeting of BRICS Forum on State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Reforms and Governance.
"However, the party backs the war on black money. As part of government, I am with government's decision; it is for the people," the Shiv Sena minister said said.
The growth of heavy industry will be meagre, only about one or two per cent this financial year, he said.
The challenge before the government is to decide whether to go for technology innovation in State-owned enterprises which will boost productivity, or give priority to jobs which could affect productivity, Geete explained.
"We want to [both] create jobs and boost productivity of state-owned enterprises," he said.
Disinvestment in state-owned enterprises would be only within the range of 5 per cent, Geete added.