BJP MP terms BSNL employees as "traitors", says 88,000 will be fired

Guwahati: Stirring controversy, Karnataka BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde has said that the state-owned telecom firm BSNL is filled with 'traitors' who aren't willing to work to develop a well-known firm.

While speaking at an event held in Kumta in Uttara Kannada district on August 10, BJP MP Hegde also more than 88,000 employees of the BSNL will be fired.

Claiming that BSNL has a system "filled with traitors", he added that "BSNL employees are traitors who weren't willing to work to develop a well-known firm." Anantkumar Hegde further added that more than 88,000 employees will be fired "as govt will privatize BSNL."

The video in which the Lok Sabha MP made these claims in Kannada is now circulating online and has stirred controversy. In the video in question, the BJP MP goes on to say that even though the government has given money, "people require services and there is infrastructure." He said that the (the BSNL staff) don't work. "PM (Narendra Modi) talks of Digital India, which has provided funds and technology. Yet, they are not willing to work," he said in a brazen attack.

It needs mention here that BSNL's losses have swelled to ₹39,089 crores during the April-December 2019 period, Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre said in Parliament in March of 2020. In 2018-19, BSNL had recorded a loss of ₹14,904 crores in the previous financial year.

Amid continuing losses, the Centre on October 23 last year approved a ₹68,751-crore revival package for BSNL and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).

Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet has also approved the merger of the state-owned telecom firms. Till the completion of the process, MTNL will operate as a subsidiary of BSNL, the Centre has decided.

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