Former Union Minister and six-time MP from Uttara Kannada Anantkumar Hegde, who is known for stoking controversy, has now called BSNL officials “traitors”, inviting sharp criticism from different circles.
Speaking at a meeting at Kumta in Uttara Kannada on Monday, Mr. Hegde said that BSNL was “a system full of traitors”. He said the telecom major was a “black mark” on the country and the government was trying to “finish it off” through disinvestment policy and private sector players would take over its place.
The former Minister said the government had provided everything to BSNL such as funds, infrastructure, and technology, but its employees lacked the mindset to work because of “union politics.” Even while they are enjoying all the facilities, the employees are simply not working, he said. Mr. Hegde said that 85,000 employees of BSNL were being removed now. Some more employees will be laid off in a “major surgery,” he said.
Reacting to the outburst, Muneer Katipalla, State president, Democratic Youth Federation of India, told The Hindu that it had exposed the fact that the NDA government was all set to sell the company to multi-nationals. He said the statement showed that the government was making all efforts to create negative vibes among the people on BSNL before shutting it down to favour foreign companies. BSNL is an asset of the country built over the years since independence, he said.
A retired divisional engineer of BSNL said on the condition of anonymity that thousands of employees had worked honestly round the clock to build the company, but some politicians had “systematically killed” the telecom major to favour private players. “Who is not allowing BSNL to launch its 4 G service across India? Is it BSNL officials?” he asked, saying the government had systematically denied land and other infrastructure to BSNL.
