Aazan Manzoor
Srinagar, Oct 6 (JKNS): Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary on Tuesday ruled out any policy to shut down Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in the Union Territory, asserting that the government must instead identify the reasons behind their financial losses and fix accountability.
Addressing media persons in Srinagar, as per news agency JKNS, Choudhary said PSUs were part of J&K’s heritage and should not be closed merely because they were facing financial difficulties.
“Why should it be shut down? We will have to find the causes and reasons. How did the PSU go into a deficit? The officers who put it in a deficit should be held accountable, and the leaders who put it in a deficit should also be held accountable,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the practice of shutting down PSUs in J&K should not continue and stressed the need to find ways to make such entities functional and financially viable.
“As I am standing before you, there is no policy of shutting down any PSU of Omar Abdullah,” Choudhary said, adding that committees had also been constituted to examine certain cases and explore whether the concerned entities could be revived.
Referring to the CAG report, he said the government would examine its findings before taking any decision. “There will be a discussion on it, there will be a debate. After that, we will come to a conclusion,” he said.
On the ₹28,400-crore industrial package and concerns raised by industrialists over its implementation, Choudhary said the government was bringing a new industrial policy which was at the final stage.
He said the new policy would seek to address bottlenecks, alleged discrimination and shortcomings in the previous industrial policy and ensure that people derive its intended benefits.
“The Industry Department has worked very hard under the direction of the Hon’ble Chief Minister. The new industrial policy is at the final stage and will come before you,” he said.
Choudhary also said that whatever shortcomings had occurred in the past would not be repeated under the new policy.
On questions related to the Election Commission and the ongoing controversy over electoral rolls, the Deputy Chief Minister said the matter was before the Supreme Court and that its outcome would establish the facts.
He said any issue concerning electoral processes was significant for a democracy, stressing that people had made sacrifices for the country’s democratic system and Constitution.
On opposition criticism over the performance of the Omar Abdullah-led government and allegations that only a small portion of the manifesto had been fulfilled, Choudhary hit back at the BJP and PDP, saying they should first account for their own performance in the Assembly.
He accused opposition members of failing to adequately raise public issues in the Assembly and said the legislature was the appropriate platform for raising political and public concerns.
“Whether the resolution was good, bad, wrong or right, the right platform was the Assembly,” he said. (JKNS)
