Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The BSNL went through a very bad phase primarily due to certain political parties especially in the UPA government when a lot of funds from BSNL were diverted”
New Delhi: Communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, In Lok Sabha on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress-led UPA government. He said the current government has a revival package in place to transform Bharat Sachar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). He added BSNL went through a “bad phase” during the term of the Congress-led UPA government, and that it was used as a “cash cow” by some Ministers who are still members of Parliament.
“The BSNL went through a very bad phase primarily due to certain political parties especially in the UPA government when a lot of funds from BSNL were diverted,” he said.
Vaishnaw’s swipe at the Congress-led UPA coalition came while he was responding to questions asked in the question hour.
“The days have gone when certain ministers from the other side of the aisle, for them BSNL was just a cash cow. Those days have gone, and BSNL will revive in a big way,” Vaishnaw said. There were loud protests from the Opposition benches. The minister did not name any particular party or minister.
Ashwini Vaishnaw also highlighted the NDA government’s plans to upgrade the telecom infrastructure and revive BSNL. He said that they have a green signal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s end. He said, “PM Modi has cleared a ₹1.64 lakh crore plan that will transform the state-run telecom firm.”
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As per PM Modi’s ‘Make In India’ initiative, BSNL will soon launch 4G and 5G networks designed, developed, and made in the nation. He added, “The revival measures focus on infusing fresh capital to upgrading BSNL services, allocating spectrum, de-stressing its balance sheet and augmenting its fibre network by merging the Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with BSNL.”
In the question hour, Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill accused private players of cheating people over the use of mobile data. On this Vaishnaw said, “When Congress was in power people had to pay ₹200 for every GB of data. Now the price range has come down to ₹20.”
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