Sangh Parivar union arm opposes FDI and large-scale privatisation moves

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) said on Tuesday it was opposed to Railway Minister D V Sadananda Gowda's plan to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) or large-scale privatisation moves in the Railways.

"We criticise this budget in the strongest possible terms. The move to open Indian Railways to FDI is an indirect way of privatising the railways. This isn't their (NDA government's) budget," Virjesh Upadhay, BMS general secretary, said.

He said BMS, trade union arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will hold its working committee meeting from July 18 to 20 in Pune to decide upon a plan to protest against the railway budget. BMS has a strong presence among the 1.3 million railway employees.

Swadeshi Jagaran Manch's Ashwani Mahajan said they had welcomed the increase in passenger fare and freight rates so that it improved railways services.

"But we want the government to come clean on this 'PPP' model. We believe the country's experience with 'PPP' model has not been good in the aviation sector, where user charges have been increased by what is called 'gold plating' the airports," he said.

Mahajan, who heads SJM's intellectual cell, demanded the government release a white paper on what the 'PPP model' would entail, and whether it would lead to making railways expensive for 90 per cent of its users who are poor. Mahajan said SJM wasn't averse to privatising of operations like ticketing or even housekeeping . "But on the question of Bullet trains, the government needs to do a detailed study whether a country like India can really afford it," he said.