Chennai: Facing criticism over the National Monetisation Pipeline, under which the government plans to raise Rs 6 lakh crore over four years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government was not selling off national assets and that it had already been made clear that there would be no change of ownership of the assets planned to be monetised.
Nirmala Sitharaman attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the Centre’s National Monetisation Pipeline. She questioned why he was silent when the Congress government had brought RFP for New Delhi station in 2008.
“I wish the opposition questions with some homework done. Who actually monetised the Mumbai-Pune corridor? Is it not the Congress party? Rs 8,000 odd crore was raised by that… New Delhi Railway station? Who called for the RFP on it? Was it not the Congress somewhere between 2008?” she questioned.
“We are not selling-off. There will be a strict handing back,” she added.
During an interaction with bankers in Mumbai, Nirmala Sitharaman went on to say that Rahul Gandhi had torn an ordinance in front of the media when the then Prime Minister was out of the country.