Govt selling properties made with public money at throwaway prices: Shukla

The Congress has been attacking the government over the national monetisation scheme and alleged that the Centres plan to sell family silver proves the gross incompetence of the Modi Cabinet in effectively managing the Indian economy.At the press conference, Shukla said, Any party that comes to power does not have the right to sell the big undertakings that have been made with the money of the people of the country.

Senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla on Friday criticised the Centre's asset monetisation plan and accused it of selling properties made with public money at throwaway prices.

''These people (BJP) are working to sell the nation's heritage and the nation's property, we are strongly opposing it,'' the Congress leader said.

The Congress held a series of press conferences by its leaders across the country to protest against the monetisation scheme.

Addressing a press conference here, Shukla accused the BJP government of ''running away from responsibility and selling the country's assets.'' ''People should oust such a central government, they should teach them a lesson.... People should teach such a lesson to the BJP that its leaders are not able to show their face,'' he said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently unveiled an ambitious Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) scheme that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors ranging from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums. Speaking with reporters at the airport here earlier, Shukla said, ''In the last 70 years, all the properties that previous governments had created with public money are being sold at throwaway prices. How can this BJP government, the Modi government sell them when they have no right to sell them.'' ''There are many institutions and public undertakings whose work can be done only by the governments because if they go into private hands then the public will be in trouble,'' he added. The Congress has been attacking the government over the national monetisation scheme and alleged that the Centre's plan to sell ''family silver'' proves the ''gross incompetence'' of the Modi Cabinet in effectively managing the Indian economy.

At the press conference, Shukla said, ''Any party that comes to power does not have the right to sell the big undertakings that have been made with the money of the people of the country. Selling them to private hands, industrialists, corporate houses is not right.'' He alleged that if the BJP comes to power in Rajasthan, it will sell the Hawa Mahal palace of Jaipur and the forts in Amer and Chittorgarh.