'Govt selling profit-making strategic PSUs like peanuts'
New Delhi: Accusing the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Wednesday accused the Modi government of "compromising" the country's strategic interests by selling "profitable" PSU Central Electronics Limited (CEL) to a private firm with no domain experience.
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said that the government is selling profit-making strategic PSUs like peanuts to entities of doubtful credentials as the valuation of the CEL using different methods was between Rs 957 crore and Rs 1,600 crore. He further said that the government had sold the Ghaziabad-based PSU to Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd for Rs 210 crore.
"We demand that this sale be stopped forthwith…. The promoters of Nandal Finance are also linked to a private university in Noida-Ghaziabad region and are known for their proximity to BJP leaders," he said. The government had announced the sale of CEL to Nandal Finance and Leasing for Rs 210 crore as against the reserve price of Rs 194 crore. This was the second strategic sale by the government after Air India.
The Congress spokesperson further claimed that the private company that bought CEL from the government had just 10 employees and also had a case pending in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
"As per the financial statements filed by Nandal Finance and Leasing Pvt Ltd in 2019-20, 99.96 per cent equity in the company was held by Premier Furnitures and Interiors Pvt Limited, which had no link to the business of CEL," he said.
"The government has sold a strategic PSU manufacturing satellite system, electric generator fuse for hand grenades and bulletproof materials for body armours to a furniture company," the Congress spokesperson said. Vallabh demanded that the government spell out the strategic roadmap for disinvestment and whether it was wise to sell profit-making PSUs closely linked to national strategic interests. "Why was a profit-making strategic PSU handed over to a private company with less than 10 employees and no domain experience," he asked.
"In a bid to cover-up their incompetence to manage the country's finance and economy, the Modi government has been crippled with short-sightedness and hellbent on killing all the golden goose," he said, adding that why the reserve price was set so low when the CEL was valued at Rs 957 crore?
