Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said Tuesday the Securities and Exchange Board of India has initiated an investigation into the fall of share prices of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
In a written reply, Shourie informed the Lok Sabha the details of the investigation were awaited.
The prices of these two scrips were falling just one week before the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Divestment on September 7, this year.
In response to another question, Shourie admitted that the Indian Oil Corporation had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to sell its equity investment in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Gas Authority of India Ltd.
He said the government has not yet taken any decision on the proposal so far.
The minister also informed the House that the Rajasthan chief minister had written a letter to the prime minister on August 27 last year requesting him to withheld the disinvestment process in two of the public sector companies in Rajasthan - Hindustan Zinc Ltd and Hindustan Copper Ltd - as it would affect the employees of these companies and the general employment situation in the State.
Shourie said his ministry intimated the Rajasthan Government that the central government had decided to sell off 26 per cent or lower on a case by case basis in the non-strategic PSUs.
UNI
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