Expressing concern over the sale of India’s national air carrier Air India to the Tatas, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has said that the disinvestment path will lead to the economic enslavement of the people.
In a statement to the media on October 9, JIH Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer said: “We are extremely concerned over how our nationalised assets are being sold to private companies, the latest being our national air carrier Air India which is now under the ownership of the Tatas. The narrative peddled by the government is that ‘the government has no business to be in business’ and that it is selling the loss-making public sector undertakings to private players to save taxpayers money. However, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind would like to point out that this approach will lead to an oligopolistic and monopolistic market that will ultimately deprive the ordinary citizen of his rights and result in giving a fillip to crony capitalism. Worker rights and employment opportunities will take a hit and the aim of India becoming a socialist republic striving to be a welfare state will recede.”
Pointing out that the apprehensions of a large section of the society, about the government are now proving true, Prof. Salim Engineer has noted that the government has failed in managing its key departments of public benefit and it is working under pressure and serving the interests of big industrialists at the cost of the common people.
Urging all concerned citizens to unite and oppose the disinvestment strategy of the government, the JIH Vice President has maintained that the path of neoliberal capitalism leads to neo-imperialism and the economic enslavement of its people.