Modi government selling off Indian assets: Mamata says in interview

By IANS English

Updated: Monday, September 1, 2014, 9:22 [IST]

Kolkata, Aug 30: Accusing the Narendra Modi led BJP government of selling out the country's assets by embracing FDI across sectors, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday warned that such policies would put Indian economy in grave crisis. She was speaking to Bengali news channel 24 Ghanta in an exclusive interview. [Read: May consider tie-up with CPI(M) if proposal comes, says Mamata]

"You can never make me do anything which is anti-people. I left the United Progressive Alliance as I was opposed to FDI in retail. I cannot put the livelihood of 50 crore Indians in danger," Banerjee said.

Stating that the only option which the Modi government believed in is to sell of the country's assets and raise fares.

"Just because the railways is running at a loss, should we sell it off? Remember, in US and other western countries like Britan they have not sold off the railways. Why is the Indian government selling off the entire railways? Railway network is needed to serve sectors from atomic power to defence," she said in an interview to a Bengali news channel Chobbis Ghanta.

"Now if you sell off to FDI everything from defence to railways, it will harm the country."

Countering finance minister Arun Jaitley's accusation that why the chief minister visited Singapore when she was opposed to FDI.

Banerjee said: "This is the problem. How can make him understand that if you work there has to be a way out? Haven't we done Public Private Partnership?," she added.

Banerjee said India could be affected if there is another recession now

"He is showing me FDI, I am showing him PPP. He is asking me to grab agricultural land at gunpoint, I am giving him the option of land bank. When I was railway minister, I never increased fares. Because I saved Rs. 2000 crore through austerity measures. I used the amount for subsiding the people."

Lavishing praise on former prime minister Indira Gandhi for taking steps such as bank and coal mine nationalistation, Banerjee said it was due to her policy that india had survived the economic slowdown in the past.

"But the direction current government is giving the Indian economy, if now there is fresh economic meltdown, we won't be able to survive. No one will be there to save us."