Privatisation of PSUs not in national interest, will oppose Centre's policy: TN CM Stalin

Privatisation of Public Sector Undertakings is not in national interest and the Tamil Nadu government would oppose the Centres bid to privatise PSUs which are public assets, Chief Minister M K Stalin informed the State Assembly on Thursday.

Privatization of Public Sector Undertakings is not in the national interest and the Tamil Nadu government would oppose the Centre's bid to privatize PSUs which are public assets, Chief Minister M K Stalin informed the State Assembly on Thursday. The PSUs of India are public assets that are designed to nurture economic growth and provide job opportunities and these are also the bedrock of small and micro enterprises, Stalin said.

''It is our view that selling or leasing PSUs are not in the national interest,'' he said.

The public sector units functioned considering larger public good and welfare and an objective of profit alone is not the goal of such enterprises, he added. Hence, the Chief Minister said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his government's opposition to the union government following a trend towards privatization of PSUs, he said.

Prime Minister Modi had months ago said that the ''government has no business to be in business.'' Barring four strategic areas, the Centre had said that it was for privatization of PSUs in all the other sectors.