'Becho India' govt: Trinamool takes dig at govt on disinvestment

Slamming the Modi government for lining up major PSUs including Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for disinvestment, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said that it was implementing the "Becho India" programme.

In his speech during the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's joint address, Trinamool member Sukhendu Sekhar Ray asked the government to come clean as to why LIC was compelled to buy shares of loss-making IDBI Bank.

"Government must reply," he said.

Ray noted that LIC bought the shares of IDBI Bank at Rs 60-61 a piece but after a few months, the same share fell to Rs 27. He said that LIC was forced to buy the shares after instructions from the Finance Ministry.

"This was the first step to destroy LIC," he alleged.

Setting Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment target in the next financial year 2020-21, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government would sell a part of its holding in LIC by way of Initial Public Offer (IPO). The move has triggered protest by its employees.

Reacting to the budget proposal, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram had said that the issue of LIC was highly debatable.

In his scathing attack on the government for its proposed disinvestment of top financial institution, TMC leader Ray said that LIC insures life of crores of people in the country but its own life is not insured.

( With inputs from IANS )