New Delhi: Congress leader P Chidambaram said that the union government is planning to sell off its assets in the name of monetisation policy. He told the media that all that has been built over the last 70 years is being pawned off into the hands of a select few.
The Centre unveiled the four-year National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) which is worth an estimated Rs 6 lakh crore. The policy aims to unlock value in brownfield projects by transferring the revenue rights to the private sector. The ownership of the assets will remain with the government. The funds generated through the policy will be used for infrastructure creation in the country.
Former finance minister alleged what's happening in India right now is called a concept in economics called asset stripping. He pointed out that there was no consultation or debate in Parliament on the policy. "PM Narendra Modi does not answer questions and neither does Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman," reported The Indian Express.
P Chidambaram stated that Congress only sold non-core assets and decided to never sell core and strategic assets. However, the Modi government is selling everything like the Konkan railway and Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor.
The four-time finance minister questioned the rationale behind selling these assets which generate revenue for the government. He alleged that the Centre is not disclosing the revenue these assets are generating because they will fetch Rs 1.5 lakh core. "I believe these assets are currently making around Rs 1.3 lakh crore. Hence, there's no justification in selling assets that have been built over 70 years for a meagre Rs 20,000 crore profit," he added.