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MPs demand restructuring and corporatisation of UTI

Cutting across party lines, Members in the Rajya Sabha on Monday demanded restructuring and corporatisation of the country's foremost and now beleaguered mutual fund -- Unit Trust of India.

Speaking on the resumed short duration discussion on UTI, Members said there was a genuine concern over the plight of US-64 scheme and efforts should be made to ensure that this did not translate into a scare.

T N Chaturvedi of the Bharatya Janata Party said that the government regulators like Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) were displaying lack of clarity on how to monitor the activities of foreign banks and fund managers.

C Ramachandriah of Telegu Desam Party said post-liberalisation the finance minister was banking on propping up of the capital market to create a feel good factor in the economy.

"When the sensex touched 6000 in February 2000, the experts were labelling it as reflecting the sound health of the economy and now when it has plunged to 3000, they are mum," Ramachandriah said.

The situation at present was a more realistic reflection of the country's economy, he said, adding that the government should have set up the Joint Parliamentary Committee, early last year, to find out the cause of artificial and obviously manipulated buoyancy.

He also took the government to task for interfering in autonomous public sector undertaking when it suited them and shying away when it meant trouble.

Fali S Nariman said leading financial institutions like UTI, LIC and IFC though statutory autonomous bodies should not be free from parliamentary control because they are dealing with the public money.

He suggested that the Acts governing the UTI, LIC, IFC and other autonomous financial institutions should be amended, if necessary, to bring them under day-to-day parliamentary scrutiny and monitoring.

Prem Chand Gupta said his party is of the view that the finance ministry cannot absolve itself of the responsibility of what has happened in the UTI, especially in relation to its US-64 scheme muddle.

He demanded that the Finance Minister should accept responsibility of the UTI muddle and resign.

But, the severest criticism came from Sanjay Nirupam whose Shiv Sena party is part of the NDA government.

Nirupam, though not demanding resignation of the FM said Yashwant Sinha should have been vigilant about what was happening in the UTI about which the members had forewarned early this year.

A lot of heat was generated in the otherwise orderly debate when Nirupam mentioned about three telephone calls from UTI's former chairman between July 17 and July 21, 2000 from Bombay to Delhi.

Nirupam alleged two of these telephone calls were made to somebody in the prime minister's office. It was strongly objected to by the BJP members.

Nirupam demanded that the House should be informed about these and other important telephone calls.

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