Chidambaram slams govt over NMP, call it a daylight robbery

Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram on Friday criticised the Centre’s National Monetisation Pipeline and demanded to know the objectives behind the initiative. He termed the NMP initiative a scandalous and a daylight robbery. Congress never sold off strategic assets, Chidambaram said at a press conference in Mumbai. “What the Modi government plans is a daylight robbery of assets which took years to build. The former minister also called it a move that would lead to cartelisation as the assets were going to go to a select two or three industrialists.

He also pointed out that the National Monetisation Pipeline is expected to be “coterminous” – meaning complement – with the National Infrastructure Pipeline. How will Rs 6 lakh crore over four years be sufficient to finance the Rs 100-lakh-crore NIP? he asked. Chidambaram also asked the government to clarify if it would use any of the amount to clear a part of the Rs 5.5 lakh crore fiscal deficit incurred in 2021-’22 or to seal other debts.

If these assents are leased out for 50 years, would they not be depreciated over the years, worth nothing on their return? Will there be provision to avoid asset stripping by the lessee? What steps are being taken to avoid monopolies or duopolies? Has the Modi government decided that the Railways is no longer be considered a strategic sector? Has the government examined the impact of the policy on prices of goods and services in the sectors concerned?” he asked. Chidambaram said that the Congress-led government sold loss making units and they had certain criteria for it. “The Congress sold non-core and non-strategic assets. They were chronically loss-making units. Ministerial market shares in PSUs were sold in case the private players in dominating in the sector. Here is they are selling of everything from Railways to airports and sea ports,” he said.