Divestment Minister Arun Shourie has denied he is unhappy with the government and that he is thinking of resigning his post.
In a brief interview with rediff.com on Friday the minister reacted to a Punjab Kesari report which said he would quit his portfolio following his displeasure over the government's functioning.
"I do not know the basis for the report, but let me tell you there is no truth in it whatsoever," Shourie said at his office at Electronic Niketan in New Delhi.
The journalist-turned-politician said the Supreme Court judgment, halting the sale of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, had dealt a severe blow to the nation's divestment process.
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"Deputy Prime Minister Advaniji has already made a statement on this count. The judgment has come as a major setback to the divestment process. This has lowered the confidence of international investors," he said.
How many international companies were bidding for HPCL and BPCL?
We had more than 120 global and domestic companies bidding for HPCL and BPCL. We had taken almost two years to reach this stage. Investors know we mean business. Just when things came to the last stage, we had this judgment.
Some analysts argue that Attorney General Soli Sorabjee had not briefed the government properly.
This is not true. Attorney General Sorabjee fully briefed the government about the legalities and we were proceeding accordingly.
What are the options before you now?
The ministry of divestment has three options before it. The first is a legal option under which we could seek a judicial review.
The second one is legislative, under which a law can be enacted (to push through the sale of the two State-run oil companies).
And the third is to explore the Executive option (to go before Parliament and seek its approval for the sale).
Why is there so much of thrust on divestment in the oil sector?
The process of divestment is not confined to the oil sector alone, but unfortunately the media has been focussing only on this particular sector.
We are divesting in the field of fertilizers. We are divesting in the tourism sector, particularly the hotel industry. We are not targetting just the oil sector.
Will the government split Indian Oil Corporation before divestment?
We are planning to separate the marketing arm of IOC from the rest of the branches. I am not going to discuss anything more than this.
What would be the shortfall in revenue collection due to the Supreme Court verdict halting the sale of oil PSUs?
We have not calculated it.
What about jobs for youngsters in the government sector? Will not divestment hurt?
Why should people look for jobs only in the government sector? One job in the government sector actually blocks three jobs in the private sector.
In the North-East, in particular, 90 per cent of the money is not used for the purposes that it is released. Most of it goes in paying salaries to the employees.
If the private sector grows, there will be more jobs for youngsters.
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