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Stop selloff squabble: Vajpayee

BS Bureau in New Delhi

Angered at his Cabinet ministers bickering openly about divestment and stung by the RSS's criticism of the National Democratic Alliance's economic reforms programme, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday made a strong defence of divestment and reforms, asserting they would continue.

Speaking at a function here to launch a labour ministry magazine, an unusually combative Vajpayee charged the media with distorting the divestment debate and said while a debate on the issue was healthy, to say that divestment had been halted because of differences within his government, was not true.

His remarks came against the background of meetings throughout the day, that presented a fractured face of the government's approach to economic policy.

Human resources development minister Murli Manohar Joshi convened a meeting with defence minister George Fernandes and petroleum minister Ram Naik at which the inadvisability of the oil sector divestment was discussed.

Within an hour of this meeting, divestment minister Arun Shourie declared only the prime minister and the deputy prime minister could decide on the policy of the government shedding equity, implying that the discussions of the group of three had no legitimacy.

Shourie also said the stock market had gone down because there was a sense that there would be no divestment, leading to a loss of buoyancy in the market.

Ram Naik countered this by saying: "People say stock prices have plummeted because divestment was put off. But the divestment of industries having strategic importance should not be based on what speculators say."

Vajpayee was as annoyed by this open jibing as he was about what RSS chief K Sudarshan said about economic policy and the way the country was being "sold" to foreign interests.

The prime minister said the media was to blame for a campaign that gave the impression that the country's assets were being sold through the privatisation process.

"Such a campaign is not in the country's interest. It is incorrect to say that the country is being sold. No one can sell this country and no one has been born who can buy India," he said in a clear reference to Sudarshan's speech.

Those who thought Vajpayee was unreservedly backing the pro-divestment section in the government were a little disheartened, for Vajpayee endorsed the need for a debate.

"There are bound to be differences when knowledgeable people discuss policies" he said, adding it was not always necessary that everyone in the government should sit together to discuss policy.

"But there should be a limit to this," he said. He also said he was not against corrective measures being taken after a review of policy, the demand voiced by George Fernandes.

Referring to loss-making public sector units, Vajpayee said they had ceased to make profits years ago and needed to be privatised.

He gave the example of the way Modern Foods had turned around after privatisation.

He conceded it was important to ensure that workers, if retrenched owing to privatisation, were provided jobs.

"No policy can be described as good for all time because it has to be dictated by present conditions and needs," he said.

Vajpayee said there was much that India had done, that deserved praise. "The rate of growth is steady and foodgrain stocks are adequate."

In fact, there was appreciation for India's reforms abroad. But at home, there was a sense of despondency about what the government had been able to achieve. This was because of the media, he said.

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