Centre's asset monetisation plan is in public interest: BJP's Arun Singh

Defending the Centre's asset monetisation plan, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said it is in public interest and that previous governments did not have the courage to implement a similar policy.

"Previous governments have also been making efforts to go for monetisation," he told reporters on Sunday.

Be it the UPA government or under the Congress, efforts were made in every budget for monetisation, but they never could implement it, Singh added.


Refuting opposition allegations of selling the country, the BJP general secretary said this government works on the principle of "maximum governance, minimum government" and running industry is not the business of the government.

The money raised through asset monetisation would be utilised for the welfare of the poor and for development of the country, he asserted.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled a National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) that included unlocking value by involving private companies across infrastructure sectors -- from passenger trains and railway stations to airports, roads and stadiums.

The country now has the maximum foreign reserves owing to the faith people have placed in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said.

The BJP leader was in town to interact with people on the progress the state has made under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath.

Since a stable government acts as the nucleus of development for any state, the revival of the Adityanath government is in the interest of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP leader stated.

UP has made tremendous progress under the leadership of Adityanath in every field during the last four and a half years, he claimed.

According to him, Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi are turning into tourist hubs, owing to virtually overhauled infrastructure in these cities.

On price rise, he said there has been a hike in prices of certain commodities. However, Singh said, since the overall inflation rate is under control and since the government is working in this direction, people would see a change shortly.

Running 119 sugar mills in the state and payment of arrears to sugarcane growers among other steps show the commitment of this government towards the welfare of farmers, he added.