Bhubaneswar, March 19: The Biju Janata Dal today registered its protest against the UPA government’s decision to disinvest in the National Aluminium Company (Nalco) both in Parliament and the Odisha Assembly.
While BJD MPs staged a protest near Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s statue on Parliament campus, party MLAs raised the issue in the Assembly. They were of the view that the House should pass a unanimous resolution seeking rollback of the disinvestment decision.
However, Congress members said there was nothing to worry about as Nalco “remained a government company and would remain so in the future”. On September 14, the Union cabinet had decided to sell 12.15 per cent stake of Nalco. Some six per cent share of the company has already been sold out.
BJD parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha Arjun Charan Sethy, who led the protest by party MPs, said Nalco was a profit-making company and it’s disinvestment would be detrimental to the state’s interest.
Raising the issue in the Assembly, BJD deputy chief whip Sanjay Dasburma said there was no justification for disinvestment in Nalco as the “navratna” company had been earning profit since its inception. It had contributed dividends of Rs 15,678 crore to the national exchequer and Rs 3,306 crore to the state exchequer. “The disinvestment will also affect its ongoing expansion plan,” he said, adding that Nalco’s six per cent share had been sold out in the market by March 15.
Dasburma suggested that a unanimous resolution be brought in the House urging the Centre to rollback the disinvestment decision. His party colleagues, including former finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei, supported him. Ghadei said that Odisha had provided more than 8,000 acres to Nalco and various bauxite mines. Some of the mines had already been leased out.
He said the disinvestment decision would affect the profitability of the company and Odisha’s economy as well.
BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain said it was intriguing that while the UPA government had allowed a tax relief of Rs 31.47 lakh crore to business houses, it was disinvesting a profit-making public sector company.
However, deputy leader of the Congress legislature party Chakradhar Paik said: “There is no reason to worry. Nalco is a government company and will remain so as long as the government stake holding is above 51 per cent.”
Concern for women
The recent rape and murder of a 17-year-old Dalit girl in Dhenkanal district triggered uproar in the Odisha Assembly today.
The girl’s charred body was recovered on March 13. The incident took place at Matheatentulia village, which falls within the limits of Gondia police station, in Dhenkanal district. Both the BJD and the Opposition legislators expressed concern over the incident.
The Opposition targeted the government on its failure to provide protection to women, particularly Dalits. The Opposition members alleged that the Odisha government did not do anything to curb the rising cases of atrocities against women.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, however, said all out efforts were made to check crimes against women. “An MoU has already been signed with the Hyderabad-based DNA Testing Laboratory. All the facilities available at the DNA Testing Laboratory will also be available at the Institute of Life Sciences here in Bhubaneswar,” he said.
Initiating the adjournment motion, Opposition chief whip Prasad Harichandan said: “Crime against Dalit women are on a rise. In the last three years, 11,410 cases of atrocities against women have been reported. Of these, charge sheets were filed in 8,408 cases. But, people were convicted only in nine cases.”
Stating that criminal incidents were on the rise because of a nexus between the government and the goons, Harichandan said that the police would not entertain any FIR if one did not grease their palms.
