Congress never monetised core, strategic assets: Chidambaram

Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday slammed the Centre's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), saying his Congress party monetized non-core, loss-making assets when in power, in stark contrast to what the Narendra Modi-led government proposes to do.

Addressing a press conference here, Chidambaram said the Congress never sold off strategic assets. "We always ensured that there is no monopoly in monetization as we chose assets based on criteria,'' he said.

Chidambaram asked the government if provisions will be included in the invitation to bid (ITB) to ensure the monetization process doesn't create monopolies or duopolies in the sector.

"What provisions will be included to prevent monopolies emerging in ports, airports, telecom, and power sectors,'' he asked.

"What the Modi government plans is a day-light robbery of assets which took years to build,'' he said.