New Delhi, Jul 2 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday questioned the government over the hurry it has shown in inviting private players in passenger train operations, asking why one of the top employers in the world is doing so in the middle of a pandemic.

Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the government could have waited for a nod by Parliament by way of a law or resolution before taking the step.

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"Why this mad rushing hurry? Could you not have waited to at least convene Parliament? You should pass a parliamentary law," he said during a virtual press conference.

"If you cannot pass a law, at least you can pass a resolution of Parliament. If you don't want to call it a resolution, at least you can have a discussion in Parliament," he said.

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The Congress leader asked why the government has decided to go for privatisation of railway lines in the middle of coronavirus pandemic.

"What is this mysterious mad hurry, what is the reason behind it," he asked.

Singhvi said the Indian Railways transported roughly 2.5 crore passengers per day, which was equal to Australia's population, and 7,500 crore people a year, besides a massive cargo movement.

He said it is the second largest single network in Asia and the world's seventh largest employer, after entities like the Department of Defence of the US, Pentagon.

"With this step, are you decimating and destroying value for India, for the nation, for India's 'Shaan, Baan, Aan' by minimizing value," he said.

The Congress leader said common sense tells that the best time to get bids for individual lines is not in the middle of the pandemic.

He alleged that the government is "squandering state largesse and throwing away valuable Indian resources by picking a time of this kind".

"It is absolutely mind boggling why this time has been chosen," he said.

Singhvi also said that the railway minister in a discussion in Parliament on March 17 had clearly said that privatisation will not be done, but some PPP (Public Private Partnership) may be done.

"We know this word jugglery. We know the semantics; we know this 'run with the hare and hunt with the hounds policy.

"You may not call it privatisation, but on the same line your freight revenue has fallen from 4 to 1 per cent, where you have falling revenues on passengers and cargo fares, how do you expect private players to run the private lines profitably," he said.

Singhvi asked these questions saying they affect the passengers, the huge cargo and the 1.4 crore personnel it employs, especially in this time of unemployment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)