FM hits back at Rahul's comments, says UPA 'privatised taxpayers money'

Govt will protect the interests of employees in plans to sell state-owned companies, says Finance Minister

Promising that interests of workers and the staff would be protected while privatising public sector units (PSUs), including banks, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nationalised corruption and privatised taxpayers’ money for the betterment of one family.

This statement was made by the finance minister to counter Rahul Gandhi’s recent tweet where he said that the current government privatised profit and nationalised losses.

He had also said that he stands in solidarity with the striking bank employees, and that the government is selling public sector banks (PSBs) to cronies.

Sitharaman said, “Nationalising corruption and privatising taxpayers’ money for the betterment of one family is all that Rahul Gandhi has to take as a reply for that tweet, which probably he outsourced to some fellow in his team.”

In her Cabinet briefing, she said PSBs are loss making due to “telephone” banking which happened during the UPA government.

“His dadi (grandmother, Indira Gandhi) had nationalised banks but nationalising of loss in banks was during the UPA’s time,” the finance minister said.

“I would want the leader, representing a very big party, to engage in serious discussions rather than throw these two liners every now and then,” she added.

The finance minister said Gandhi had probably outsourced his comments to hardcore communists, who give two liners to say that exploitation is happening.

Sitharaman said it is wrong to have a premise that all banks will be privatised.

“Even those which are likely to be privatised, we obviously need to keep in mind that these privatised institutions will continue to function,” she said.

“If there is a coal unit, or a thermal unit or a hydro unit or a steel unit, the intention is that these units function with more money coming in and with more specialisation and more modernisation happening,” she said.

She added that it will be ensured that interests of the staff or personnel will be protected.

“We also want staff to be able to perform duties as they have acquired skills over decades and run the banks. Whether it is salaries, whether it is scale, whether it is pension, it will all be taken care of,” the finance minister added.  

Some employees of PSBs were on a two-day strike from Monday to protest against the government’s decision to privatise two public sector banks.