Are BSNL Employees Traitors?
“First, declare the dog as mad. Then kill it,” is the strategy that the Centre has been adopting to kill human beings if the situation warrants. Attaching the labels of “anti-national, terrorist, or extremist” gives the police the license to kill anyone. Those who are genuinely concerned about this are forced to refrain themselves from condemning such incidents fearing that they might also get labelled as anti-nationals. Recently, a BJP Member of Parliament, Anantkumar Hegde, called employees of the state-owned telecom firm BSNL as ‘traitors.’ “BSNL is full of traitors. This organization is a disgrace to the country. BSNL has not been able to provide efficient services. We are going to finish it off. In the coming days, private organizations would replace BSNL. We are removing 85,000 employees and many more people would be sent home,” Hegde said this as though this was an ‘achievement.’ To defend the decision to ‘finish off’ a central public sector organization, its employees have been called as ‘traitors.’ The MP has thus unofficially announced that the ‘anti-national BSNL’ would be sacrificed in a ‘fake encounter’ that would take place soon and has defended the decision to render people jobless and send them home as an act to ‘punish the anti-nationals.’ But, he seems to have forgotten that through this, he has called his own government as ‘anti-national.’
Who is actually responsible for destroying the BSNL? Are only the employees responsible for this? The BSNL is owned by the Government of India. Those who run the organization are responsible for its failures, and not the employees alone. As the employees of the organization are a part of the government, isn’t the government also guilty for grooming the ‘traitors’? At present, besides the BSNL, the government is contemplating handing over several government organizations to the private sector. Can it then be inferred that Hegde is trying to defend these moves by calling the employees of all these organizations ‘anti-nationals or traitors’? Or is he calling his own government ‘anti-national’ for destroying government organizations and handing them over to the private sector? The ‘Patriotic MP’ must answer all these questions.
The tragic story of BSNL started with the economic liberalization and privatization in the 90s. When mobile phones made an entry into India, the government adopted a step-motherly attitude towards the Indian telecommunication industry. The public sector BSNL had ample strength to compete with the private sector in the mobile telephone sector as it had already expanded its service base to rural India. Unlike the BSNL, the private sector was yet to even own basic infrastructure. If the Government had used these facilities and built mobile towers, BSNL would have retained its position as India’s only telecom service provider. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and the employees are not responsible for this. The government did not allow the BSNL to compete with the private sector. The BSNL entered the mobile telephone sector five years after foreign companies and private companies established their roots. An explanation to the allegations of the MP that mobile networks are not available can also be found here. In fact, the allegations that the MP is levelling against BSNL employees can be made against other government employees as well. BSNL employees cannot be held responsible for network unavailability. Why is the BSNL not yet providing 4G services? Who is stopping the BSNL from offering the latest services – is it the staff or the government? Without providing any facilities or opportunities for the BSNL to compete with the private sector, how appropriate is it to blame employees?
The main reason for the downfall of BSNL that has to its credit more than 50,000 mobile towers and Rs 89,000 crore worth property is the support provided by the government to a few corporate companies. Realizing that BSNL was on the path of loss making due to the government’s policies, many senior BSNL officials deserted the sinking ship and moved to private companies. In this manner, private companies protected their interests through BSNL. Five years ago, when Reliance Company through its Jio brand offered several popular schemes, it used as its brand ambassador, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph. The Prime Minister’s role in converting BSNL into a loss-making venture is huge in terms of the failure to lift BSNL’s sagging fortunes and at the same time, providing all facilities to Jio and allowing the company to use his photograph. Hegde who has called BSNL employees anti-national should not forget this. Most importantly, not only BSNL, the government is making preparations to hand over several important government organizations including many profit-making ventures to the private sector. How did Reliance Company that has no experience in the defence sector become a part of the Rafael deal instead of the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)? The HAL which is the pride of India is getting ruined because of the Centre’s policies. HAL employees are not getting even their salaries regularly. Will the government term employees of even this organization ‘anti-nationals or traitors’ and kill the organization through a ‘fake encounter’? Hegde should answer these questions.
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GST Council clarifies on popcorn taxation
Jaisalmer, Dec 21: The GST Council on Saturday agreed to issue a clarification on the taxation of popcorn, stating that pre-packed and labelled ready-to-eat snacks will attract a 12% tax, while an 18% GST will be levied if the popcorn is caramelised.
There is no change in the tax rate for popcorn, and the GST Council has decided that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) will issue a circular clarifying the current taxation regime for popcorn.
"Ready-to-eat popcorn," which is mixed with salt and spices and has the essential character of namkeens, currently attracts a 5% GST if it is not pre-packaged and labelled.
If it is supplied as pre-packaged and labelled, a 12% GST is levied.
However, when popcorn is mixed with sugar (caramel popcorn), its essential character changes to that of a sugar confectionery, and it would therefore be classified under HS 1704 90 90, attracting an 18% GST, as per the clarification.
