Vijayawada: LIC staff form human chain to protest divestment

Vijayawada: Following the call given by All India Insurance Employees' Association (AIIEA), the LIC employees across the country observed the 65th anniversary of nationalisation of life insurance business on Tuesday. As part of it, during lunch hour at the branches located at Bhavanipuram in Vijayawada the employees wearing badges formed a human chain to protect and save the public sector LIC of India.

Addressing the employees, divisional joint secretary Ch Kaladhar said that it was on January 19, 1956, the then Government of India promulgated an ordinance and took over the management of 245 private insurance companies, which were looting and plundering people's savings and resorting to financial misappropriations. Later, on September 1, 1959, the LIC of India came into existence through an Act of Parliament.

He recalled that commencing its operations with a paltry sum of Rs 5 crore of initial capital in 1956, the LIC today has become a world class organisation with an asset base of over Rs 32 lakh crore with a policyholder base of 40 crores. So far, the LIC paid Rs 26,000 crore as dividend to the Central government and contributed several lakhs of crores of rupees for nation building activities.

He said that it was unfortunate that the government is out to destroy the finest public sector institution in the name of IPO or disinvestment and its listing in stock market paving way for privatisation.

Kaladhar appealed to the policyholders and the people at large to resist the move of the government to bring amendments to the LIC Act 1956 in the forthcoming budget session of Parliament to pave way for LIC disinvestment.

Union leaders NMK Prasad, J Madhu, Ch Rajasekhar, N Nagendra Singh, G Srinivas, Hepsiba and others addressed the programme