New Delhi: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday took a swipe over proposed merger of loss-making BSNL and MTNL saying it was a government ploy to first merge and then sell it cheaply to the crony capitalist.
"Step 1: Merge. Step 2: Mismanage. Step 3: Show mega losses. Step 4: Sell cheap to crony capitalist," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
His remarks came soon after the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the BSNL-MTNL revival plan, which includes allocation of 4G spectrum, Rs 20,000 crore capital infusion and their in-principle merger. The revival and restructuring plan also includes permission to the entities to raise Rs 15,000 crore sovereign bonds, monetise Rs 38,000 crore assets and roll out a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees.
The asset monetisation will be done over four years. Pending the merger, MTNL will act as a subsidiary of BSNL till modalities are firmed up. On Tuesday, the Congress MP from Wayanad also slammed the government for selling the profit making PSU Container Corporation of India (Concor). He also met the staff union of Concor, which is agitating against the proposed disinvestment of the company.
After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Highly profitable and strategic, the Container Corporation (Concor) is a PSU jewel that some of the PM's greedy crony capitalist friends are hungry for and the Govt plans to sell. I met members of the Concor union today. Please share their attached petition and support their cause."
