CITU DENOUNCE FINANCE MINSITER’S FOURTH ROUND ANNOUNCEMENT— A PROGRAMME FOR DISASTER, DESTRUCTION AND DEINDUSTRIALISATION. AMID THE NOISE OF SELF RELIANCE BLUE PRINT FOR RECKLESS PRIVATISATION OF STRTAEGIC  SECTOR PSUs IN FAVOUR OF FOREIGN PLAYERS

Amid the shrill noise of self reliance, the fourth round announcement of Finance Minister in the name relief package carried no relief to actually suffering people in the least owing to lockdown. No doubt it is big bonanza to the  private corporate bosses, more foreign than domestic  through facilitating  privatization of defence production by  corporatization route, through opening privatization process of our vital mineral resources like coal and others, privatization of Airports and PSU Airlines, also essential public utility service like the electricity, even Space and Atomic Energy.

At the same time, as has been made clear in her second and  third round announcements regarding country’s labour-  management  land-management, extra liberalism showered through  aggressive move for complete annulment of all labour laws and also  loud talks on liberal availability of land for industries through industrial land bank and other means, promotion of SEZs etc, make it amply clear that the most retrograde reforms programme being ventured by the Govt at the centre to appease the private capital, both foreign and domestic is going to be founded on taking away the lands of the farmers, or forcing them for distress sale who are already distressed through continuing agrarian crisis; on the other hand the misadventure of the Govt is also founded on barbarous sucking of the sweat and blood of the working people at large through promotion of lawless SEZ culture everywhere divesting them of all rights in all the workplaces. Those who produce food for the country and those who produce value for the nation are targeted for barbarous exploitation and expropriation along with desperate auction of  country’s strategic industries, natural and national resources to the detriment of national interests.

The privatization drive in defence production sector through corporatisation route and forcing PPP on the Ordnance Factory net work, together with allowing 74% FDI through automatic route will finally lead to foreignisation of our defence production, rather more dependence on foreign defence equipment companies threatening the security-preparedness of the country. Along with, doing away with technology transfer provisions in the major defence equipment procurement as has already been indulged in infamous Rafael aircraft deal while similar others for naval frigates, submarines, missiles etc being in pipelines –all with major foreign producers—is finally going to make the country’s profit-making defence sector PSUs, shipyards etc

absolutely redundant or make them the junior partner of foreign players. This will also severely erode the self-reliance and make the country dependent on imperialist powers.

The privatization drive in coal and Bauxite minerals sector along with banishing of the captive-mine concept and also allowing 100 per cent FDI through automatic route will finally be having destructive impact on the concerned public sector companies like Coal India Ltd and other in the Aluminum sector, much to the detriment of national interests. Moreover blanket commercialization including exports of these minerals mined by private sector including the foreign players, is finally going to starve the vital industries in our country like  power, steel, aluminum, fertilizers etc   of their essential raw materials needs at affordable prices. 

The Aviation sector has also been thrown in the process of privatization,  including the national carrier Air India and also country’s profit-making airports some of which has already gone to  the chosen and favoured private players.

The country’s electricity sector, the most vital sector delivering essential public utility is being pushed to total privatization, creating a compulsion for the state governments to follow  such disastrous route, through Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 and authoritarian centralization of regulatory power stipulated by it; on the other hand subsidy on household consumers  and agriculture has been announced to be phased out meaning increasing burden on the common people and already suffering agrarian sector.

Utterly notorious has been to open the door of privatization in Space Research and Atomic Energy sector through the so called PPP model which will mean monetization of the fruits of research by our scientist by private players without bearing any cost of the research, nor contributing anything. This is synonymous to plunder on national assets, resources and intellectual property developed by the country with huge investment of public fund.

Selecting the Pandemic and lockdown time, severely squeezing the space for democratic exercise of debates and dissents for all the above misdeeds involving national interests reflects the dubious and destructive intents of the Govt of the day.

CITU condemns such desperate auctioneering of country’s strategic industrial units in Defence production, Coal and Bauxite mining, aviation sector, electricity, Space and Atomic Energy and other national assets and resources in favour of private and foreign players which are severely detrimental to national interests. CITU calls upon the working people and all the trade unions irrespective of affiliations to protest against these retrograde measures and prepare for united resistance struggle at the earliest.

Issued by
( Tapan Sen )
General Secretary

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