Claim of nothing was done in 70 years stands exposed: Chidambaram

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of “nothing was done in 70 years” stands exposed, former Finance Minister and senior Congressman P Chidambaram said as he lashed out at the BJP-led NDA dispensation over the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).

“The NMP will wash away what has been done in the last 70 years,” said Chidambaram, a Rajya Sabha member.

“The NMP was not announced in the Parliament, it was announced after the session ended….there was no consultation paper, no meetings with trade unions, no discussion with political parties,” he said.

Chidambaram said that Modi is the only Chief Executive in the world who has never interacted with the press. “The Prime Minister in the last 7 years never interacted with the press and in the next three years he would not do so. The Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) never responds to questions in press conference….for farm bills they have not allowed a debate, on Pegasus no debate took place…and I am sure that they will not allow a debate on NMP also,” he said.

Read | Assets created in last 70 yrs being sold: Rahul on NMP

Under the NMP, the government proposes to "monetize" identified assets and earn revenue of Rs 6,00,000 crore over a four years, said Chidambaram wanting to know: “What are the objectives of the NMP? Is the sole objective of NMP the raising of revenue over a four year period? Certain assets have been identified by the NMP for monetization. What are the criteria applied for the choice of assets? In the case of roads/highways, there is currently a PPP policy. What is the difference, if any, between the model that is in force for such PPPs and the model that will be adopted under the NMP for monetization?”

Chidambaram wanted to know whether the government revealed the total capital investment in the identified assets that are expected to yield the aforesaid revenue.

According to him, under the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, certain criteria were adopted upfront for identifying the PSU that would be disinvested or privatized.

“If an asset is 'monetized' for, say, 30 or 50 of years, what is the value of the piece of paper that declares the government to be the 'owner' of the asset? What kind of asset does the government expect will be returned at the end of the period? Will it not be a fully depreciated asset worth practically nothing?” Chidambaram said.

“Since the NMP is silent on the subject, will the government stipulate in the contract that the amount of depreciation should be put in a Depreciation Reserve Account which was used only to maintain, upgrade or add to the asset so that at the end of the lease period a valuable asset is returned to the government,” he said.

Putting a barrage of questions, he said: “Will there be a provision in the contract to prevent asset-stripping by the lessee? What provisions will be included in the Invitation to Bid (ITB) to ensure that the 'monetization' process does not create monopolies or duopolies in that sector? In particular, what provisions will be included to prevent monopolies/duopolies emerging in the ports, airports, telecom and power sectors?”

“Will government assure the people that the expected sum of Rs 6 lakh crore will not be merged with general revenues and will be not be used for general expenditure? Will the government clarify and assure that the entire amount of Rs 6 lakh crore, when realized, will not be used for partly financing the fiscal deficit (Rs 5.5 lakh crore in 2021-22) or for retiring old debts?” he wanted to know.