Jaya alleges 'ulterior motive' in NLC disinvestment issue

Chennai, Jul 4 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa today alleged the UPA government at the centre had some ulterior motive in disinvesting ten per cent of its equity in the public sector Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and flayed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for suggesting the Centre could sell the shares to the employees.

Stating that the Centre had no reason for disinvesting its equity in the Public Sector Undertaking(PSU), Ms Jayalalithaa, in a statement here, said the Rs 1,100 crore, the Centre wanted to earn through the disinvestment was a paltry amount for it and it had so many other means to raise the amount.

As the Centre still insisted and was adamant on the disinvestment issue, it raised serous apprehensions in the minds of employees and general public that the Congress-led UPA Government had some ulterior motive in the disinvestment issue.

Respecting the sentiments of the agitating employees, the Centre should reconsider and withdraw its decision on disinvestment immediately, she said and wished the employees success in their agitation.

Ms Jayalalithaa criticised Mr Karunanidhi for his suggestion the Centre could consider selling the shares to the NLC employees.

This was totally impracticable and amounted to cheating the employees, she alleged.

If the employees were to buy the shares, each employee has to shell out Rs eight lakhs and nobody in the NLC was in a position to buy the shares, Ms Jayalalithaa said. ''Mr Karunanidhi's suggestion to this effect was nothing but betrayel to the employees in another form,'' she charged.

Ms Jayalalithaa said she was interested in inaugurating the one day hunger strike observed by the employees yesterday, but after realising that the DMK would give a political colour to it and refrain from taking part in the strike, she had avoided visiting NLC.

The AIADMK firmly believed the Centre should not disinvest its equity in NLC in the interest of the employees and the people of the state, she added.

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