Now, Cong in Orissa opposes Nalco move

The Congress unit in Orissa has joined the chorus against the UPA government's decision to divest 10 per cent stake in Nalco.

An 11-member delegation of Congress leaders led by Orissa state Congress president Jayadev Jena today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and requested him to rescind the decision.

The PM was learnt to have assured the delegation that he would look into the points raised by them. But he refused to make any commitment.

The Congress delegation tried to impress upon him the 'political fallout' of Nalco divestment as all non-Congress parties "" BJP, BJD, and the Left parties "" are opposed to it and have launched agitations to capitalise on it politically, according to sources present in the meeting.

"When the then NDA regime had sought to privatise Nalco, the Congress had opposed it tooth and nail. How can we support the government's decision now? Divesting 10 per cent stake is only the beginning, which will end up with complete privatisation of Nalco. The government's decision has come at a time when Rs 4,500 crore expansion plan of Nalco has already been approved. We are opposed to the government's decision on divestment," Jena told Business Standard.

Meanwhile, the Central Secretariat of the CPI met here today to discuss the government's recent initiatives on the issues of disinvestment and price rise. The Left party decided to hold a meeting with the other three Left parties and write a joint letter to the PM and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to lodge their protest.

"We are going to tell the government that it is heading for confrontation with the people. Even on price rise, the government has taken only half-hearted measures. We are going back to the 1950s when we were dependent on imports of food," said CPI general secretary AB Bardhan.

In a related development, the Congress today refused to react to the DMK's decision to oppose disinvestment of Neyveli Lignite Corporation.

"It is for the government to take note of it," party spokesman Rajiv Shukla said in a press briefing today.