AGAINST PRIVATISATION OF PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS & GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS

The 17th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) being held at Hyderabad on 19-24 March 2002 notes with grave concern the sell-out the PSUs leading to dangerous consequences on the economy of the country and the people. Every off-loading of shares or outright sale of the PSU exposed gross irregularity and rampant corruption in gifting away national assets on a platter. The Congress notes with deep indignation that the Modern Foods, BALCO, CMC, Hindustan Teleprinters, VSNL, Paradeep Phosphates and three ITDC hotels have already been sold in a scandalous manner. In almost all vital strategic sectors of the economy like Airlines & Airports Coal, Oil, Power, Metal and Heavy Engineering, wagon-manufacturing etc. have already been scheduled for sell-out to garner Rs.80,000 crore during the Tenth Five Year Plan. The target for 2002-2003 has again been fixed at Rs 12,000 crore. Government Departments and the Departmental Undertakings including Railways are being downsized and privatized. As enabling step for privatization the Telecom Department has already been corporatised in BSNL and MTNL and corporatisation of the Port & Docks, Defence Production units, has been reiterated in the budget speech(2002-03). Further, to facilitate early and easy privatization, PSUs are being split into pieces in the name of restructuring, mostly as per advice of foreign consultants appointed at huge consultancy cost. All these moves of strategic sale of PSUs are in line with World Bank-IMF-WTO prescriptions. The ‘Manual on Procedures on Disinvestment’ published by the Ministry of Disinvestment, has drawn the blueprint of the methods and procedures to keep the PSUs undervalued without any consideration of their asset base, only to suit the interest of the prospective buyers in the foreign and Indian corporates. Despite denigrating campaign being carried on against the PSUs, during the year 1999-2000 the net profit earned by the PSUs was Rs.14,555 crore which is 17.66 per cent of equity share capital and 14 per cent of return on capital employed which is no way inferior to private sector. Compared to the previous year the net profit has increased by 10.24 per cent. The total contribution of the PSUs to the exchequer on account of corporate tax, excise duty, customs duty and other duties, dividend and interest on loan etc. for the year 1999-2000 was Rs.56,433 crore, whereas in the same year, the unpaid outstanding from their most favoured private sector on account of corporate tax, income tax, customs duty etc was more than Rs 62,000 crore. In the same year the PSUs also generated internal resources to the tune of Rs.35,891 crore. The drive for privatization is a clear cut device to destroy the economic self-reliance of the country and a betrayal of national interest. It is aimed at reducing the role of the State as mere facilitator for private exploitation while its regulatory role to take care of the social, developmental requirements of the country as a whole is being sought to be done away with. It further seeks to hand over the national assets to MNCs, who, in alliance with big business houses are trying to control the entire Indian economy to suit their profit motive. Along with the Central Government, many State Governments are also pursuing the same destructive policy of privatisation. And, the privatization exercise is not merely restricted to industrial economy alone but spread further to cover almost all public utilities and services including health, education etc. The Central and many state governments have set up many committees and those committee recommended privatizing government departments, railways, state PSUs and accordingly drastic privatization is taking place rendering huge number of employees surplus. The 17th Party Congress of CPI(M), while denouncing the anti-national policy of privatization, calls upon the working class and the people to launch united countrywide struggle against disastrous ploy to destroy the national economy. The Congress welcomes the decision of the Central Trade Unions and public sector trade unions to go for countrywide strike action on 16th April in all the public sector undertakings, banks, insurance sector and ports and dock units. It also welcomes the decision of the Defence industry Unions for two days strike in all the defence sector establishments on 23-24 March. The CPI(M) calls upon the people of all affiliations to stand in solidarity with the striking workers against privatization and prevent the NDA Government’s move to sell the national interests on a platter to serve the interest of domestic monopoly capital and foreign capitalists.