Varun Gandhi opposes bank, railway privatisation, says it will leave 5 lakh jobless

• Varun Gandhi said that a government that works for people's welfare cannot encourage inequality by promoting capitalism
• The tweet comes days after Gandhi penned a column for The Hindu, where he said, "A push for privatisation (of ~350 PSUs, with 10.3 lakh employees) is a push for layoffs"

New Delhi: Launching a fresh offensive against the Central government's policies, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi opposed the privatisation of banks and railways on Tuesday, claiming that it will render five lakh people jobless. "The privatisation of banks and railways alone will lead to the forced retirement of five lakh employees, meaning they will be unemployed," said the BJP MP from Pilibhit. Gandhi has been taking to Twitter to express his views on a range of issues, especially pertaining to the BJP government's policies, that are not in line with the BJP's official stance.

'Government cannot promote capitalism'

In Tuesday's tweet, Gandhi said that a government that works for people's welfare cannot encourage inequality by promoting capitalism. "With every job that's lost, the hope for lakhs of families diminishes. A government that works for people's welfare cannot encourage inequality by promoting capitalism," the BJP MP tweeted. 

'Push for privatisation is push for layoffs'

The tweet comes days after Gandhi penned a column for The Hindu, where he said, "A push for privatisation (of ~350 PSUs, with 10.3 lakh employees) is a push for layoffs, without a firm sense of job creation in a fragile economy." Gandhi argued that to scale-up and reform PSUs could be a better alternative.

BJP govt's PSU privatisation plan

The statements come as the BJP government at the Centre has announced a widespread and ambitious privatisation plan to sell off, merge or shut down PSUs in non-strategic sectors. In the four strategic sectors that have been identified by the government, the Centre plans to retain a bare minimum number of PSUs. The government has declared that "it has no business to be in business."

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