Sidhu: PSUs bleeding, PM promoting Adani, Ambani

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 20

Congress leader and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today launched an all-out attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking if he was the business development manager for industrialists Gautam Adani and Anil Ambani.

Citing a range of statistics, Sidhu alleged that the PM under his watch allowed the public sector companies to be sapped of finances while private industry made windfall gains. “Is the PM business development manager for Adani and Ambani? Is this PM’s nationalism? Our PSUs are bleeding and Adani and Ambani are flourishing. Is this how the PM proves his love for the country?” asked Sidhu during a press conference in the capital today.

Sidhu alleged that PM benefitted private players and said when the PM visited Russia in 2015, Anil Ambani’s recently bought Reliance Defence got a major defence deal worth Rs 7,500 crore. “Then the PM went to France and Ambani’s company got Rafale makers Dassault Aviation’s offset contract worth Rs 30,000 crore. Then PM went to Sweden and the same story of benefit to private industry was repeated,” he alleged.

Sidhu said the PM was “using the armed forces to garner votes.” “During UPA times when terrorist attacks happened, resignations of ministers were sought. Today when attacks happen, votes are sought,” he said. He also noted that in October 2016, 4G spectrum was allocated to a private company Jio while public sector firm BSNL has not got spectrum to date.  “India’s postal losses touched Rs 15,000 crore in 2018-19 and India Post replaced Air India and BSNL as the biggest loss-making PSU.”