Summary:
Chennai, Sep 2 (PTI) Former Union law minister Ashwani Kumar on Thursday claimed the Centre"s National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), to unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging private sector, is wholly ill-conceived, untenable and intended to hoodwink the people from pressing national issues like price rise, unemployment and others.
Terming the policy as a "cruel joke," he said the NMP is "virtually a transfer of taxpayer-funded assets to a handful of business groups." "It will lead to a rising concentration of economic power in crucial sectors of the economy in the hands of a few and will also affect the price stabilisation," the Congress leader said.
Speaking to reporters at Satyamurthy Bhavan, the party state headquarters here, Ashwani Kumar alleged the Centre was attempting to part with national assets to the tune of Rs 6 lakh crore by telling the nation that Rs 100 lakh crore would be invested in infrastructure.
"How is it possible, in any case if any mathematical formula is applied, to fund Rs 100 lakh crore through the collection of Rs 6 lakh crore over a period of four years? This is a cruel joke on the people of the country," he remarked.
On the face of it, the NMP appeared to be an attempt to "legitimise a mechanism to favour a select few at the cost of the nation," he added.
The NMP, he said, is "untenable and a mala fide attempt to hoodwink the people by distracting them from the real issues confronting India, especially price rise, unemployment, mismanagement, etc." The policy could effectively lead to job insecurity and could defeat the policy of reservation in jobs for SC, ST, OBCs etc., he added.