Members of the Insurance Corporation Employees Union, Machilipatnam Division, on Saturday took out a rally in protest against the Central government’s proposal to list Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on the stock market.
Addressing the protesters, joint secretary Chilakalapudi Kaladhar and vice-president M.N.K. Prasad said that LIC was started in 1956 with a seed capital of ₹5 crore, without any financial assistance from the Central government.
“Every year, LIC has been giving ₹2,000 crore dividend to the government, besides contributing thousands of crores for Five-Year Plans, drinking water schemes, irrigation schemes, municipalities and for the farmers’ cause,” the protesters said.
In a separate protest, members of the Insurance Corporation Employees’ Union demonstrated their resentment against the proposed privatisation and listing of the LIC on the stock market by resorting to a ‘gate meeting’. A large number of LIC employees and agents participated in the protest.
Union general secretary G. Srinivas said that an hour-long walk-out protest would be staged across the country on February 4 to put pressure on the government for a rollback on the decision.
