BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday slammed the Union Government over lack of clarity and transparency in the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) policy and for going ahead with it without even consulting stakeholders. The party will create awareness about its adverse impact and will also launch an agitation against it, he said.
Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru, the Congress leader said the strategic assets built over six decades were put on the block without even holding talks with stakeholders, trade unions and without discussing it in Parliament. It is a unilateral decision that will result in job losses at a time when employment rate is very high, he added. The government should ensure fair and healthy competition, but its decision will create a monopoly and taxpayers will be forced to fork out more, he said.
Questioning the logic behind putting strategic assets like railways, mining and telecom on the block, the Congress leader said people who will finance these ‘purchases’ will take money from public sector banks, buy public sector entities, cut jobs, make profits and give Rs 1.5 lakh crore to the Government of India.
Pilot said the fear is not just about the NMP process, that is questionable, but also about who the end beneficiaries will be. The government is only a trustee of the assets and it has to act with transparency and show credibility, he added.
Responding to a question on factionalism in the Congress units in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab and other states, Pilot said the Congress is the only party that can take on the BJP in the General Elections. “In a robust democratic set-up, it is okay for leaders to express their views within the party, though sometimes, discussions are not as pleasant as one would like it to be, but ultimately, the voices of leaders are heard and discussed, and they come up with unanimous decisions,” he said.
Responding to questions over political developments in his home state, the former Rajasthan Deputy CM said the party high command will take the required steps. He said the party and the Rajasthan government have to work together to fulfil promises made in the manifesto and again come back to power after the 2023 elections, said Pilot, who had rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s leadership. Pilot said issues raised by him are being looked into by the party central leaders and AICC and the CM will decide on cabinet expansion.
Sachin Pilot said India must be very nuanced in its stand on Afghanistan and the Centre should do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of Indians stuck in Afghanistan and to safeguard the country’s strategic interests.