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NALCO privatisation stayed due to controversy: Vajpayee
Wednesday, 16 July 2003, 19:30 IST
BHUBANESWAR: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said Tuesday that the privatisation of the National Aluminium Company (NALCO) had been put off due to controversy.
Vajpayee said this while addressing a public gathering amidst heavy rain after laying the foundation of the regional branch of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences at Sijua village, about 14 km from here.
He said the federal government had decided to stay the privatisation of Orissa-based aluminium major NALCO following controversy over the move.
During the visit, several trade unions, including one affiliated to the Communist Party of India (CPI), organised protests in front of the Raj Bhavan, demanding Vajpayee's clarification over the NALCO issue.
They also burnt Vajpayee in effigy, a police official said.
One of the biggest public sector units in Orissa, the 
24 billion NALCO is a big employer in the economically backward state.
Several political parties and trade unions in Orissa have been protesting ever since the federal government moved to privatise NALCO.
Barring Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), most parties and unions have announced they would join hands to block the plan to reduce the government's shareholding in the company.
They have the support of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has written to Vajpayee against the bid to cut the government's 87.15 percent majority shareholding in NALCO to a minority stake of only 26 percent.
Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal partners Vajpayee's BJP in Orissa.
NALCO was set up in Orissa in 1981 to exploit the state's huge bauxite reserves. It is India's premier aluminium manufacturer with exports touching 13 billion. The federal government had announced it would reduce the government's equity in NALCO in three stages.
Vajpayee was accompanied by Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, Health and Family Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Source: IANS
24 billion NALCO is a big employer in the economically backward state.
Several political parties and trade unions in Orissa have been protesting ever since the federal government moved to privatise NALCO.
Barring Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), most parties and unions have announced they would join hands to block the plan to reduce the government's shareholding in the company.
They have the support of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has written to Vajpayee against the bid to cut the government's 87.15 percent majority shareholding in NALCO to a minority stake of only 26 percent.
Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal partners Vajpayee's BJP in Orissa.
NALCO was set up in Orissa in 1981 to exploit the state's huge bauxite reserves. It is India's premier aluminium manufacturer with exports touching 13 billion. The federal government had announced it would reduce the government's equity in NALCO in three stages.
Vajpayee was accompanied by Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, Health and Family Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Source: IANS