Trade unions on Wednesday urged Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to reconsider the proposed privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
In a joint letter to Pradhan, the unions said, “The joint platform of central trade unions and federations urges upon you to please seriously reconsider and refrain from such move of privatization of BPCL in the interests of the nation.â€
It said despite opposition by trade unions and BPCL employee unions, the government is going ahead with the public sector firm’s privatisation.
BPCL was formed by the nationalisation of multinational petroleum companies through an Act of Parliament, which was a major step towards strengthening the country’s petroleum sector, it said.
Post nationalisation, the capacity of BPCL has been augmented through huge investment out of the national exchequer to serve the people with unhindered supply of petrol, diesel, cooking gas and kerosene, the letter said.
