Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked the Narendra Modi government to stop privatisation of public sector undertakings (PSUs) and save government jobs while former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said news reports about the State Bank of India (SBI) planning to implement a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) is ‘cruel’ at this time.
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“Today, the country is facing many Modi-government manufactured disasters, one of which is unnecessary privatisation. Youth want jobs but by privatising PSUs, the Modi government is destroying jobs and saved up capital. Who benefits? A ‘few friends’ gain who are special to Modi ji. Stop Privatisation, Save Government Jobs,” tweeted Mr. Gandhi.
Separately, reacting to news reports of the SBI going for a VRS scheme in the middle of a pandemic, Mr. Chidambaram on Monday said it was “cruel at a time when the economy has collapsed and jobs are scarce”.
“News reports say that SBI plans to implement a VRS scheme as an ‘economy measure’. In normal times the plan would be debatable. In these abnormal times, when the economy has collapsed and jobs are scarce, it is cruel,” Mr. Chidambaram said,also on twitter.
“If India’s biggest lender has to shed jobs, imagine what other big employers and MSMEs are doing. The plan is ostensibly voluntary but we know that subtle pressure will be brought on the employees that the Bank wants to get rid of. If the current rules provide for genuine voluntary retirement, why announce a new plan and give out an exact number like 30,190?” he added.
