NALCO not to be privatised, says Soren

Reflecting the anti-privatisation stance of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the new Coal and Mines Minister Shibu Soren on Wednesday said a 'firm no' to the privatisation of aluminium major NALCO.

"There is no need for the privatisation of NALCO as everything is working properly," Soren said.

Asked whether he would reverse the decision of the previous NDA Government to privatise the profit-making company, the Minister said "jab sarkar hi wapas ho gai hai toh ab kya wapas karne ke liye rah gaya hai (when the Government has been voted out than what was left)," he said.

The policy of the previous Government to sell out the profit-making units were not in good taste and the wrong policies have to be stopped, he said.

"To destroy or sell result-oriented units was not a good thing to happen," the JMM supremo said.

The NDA Government had in 2002 decided to privatise NALCO by disinvesting 60 per cent stake which faced stiff opposition from Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Following the resentment, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided against pursuing the sale of the PSU.