Government will not initiate the process for divestment of the two major oil companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, during the month-long recess of the current Budget session of Parliament beginning March 14, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj categorically assured Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Responding to a query of CPI-M member Rupchand Pal during Zero Hour, Swaraj said "I can assure the House that the process for divestment of HPCL and BPCL will not not begin during the recess of the session beginning March 14 and these units will continue to be public sector undertakings."
Stating that the government had no objection to a debate on the issue, Swaraj said it had already been discussed by Rajya Sabha.
This matter could be discussed in Lok Sabha only after the recess as the House was to pass Railway and General Budgets for 2003-04 and discuss some other important matters before March 14, she said.
Raising the matter, Pal said the government should not be allowed to go ahead with the process of divestment of HPCL and BPCL till it was fully debated by the House.
"Government should not proceed any further in the matter till a full-fledged discussion takes place," Pal said, adding this was an issue on which there were differences even within the Cabinet and the ruling NDA partners.
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