New Delhi: Sharply criticising the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) management for its decision to invest Rs 1,200 crore in Tata Teleservices, Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) on June 1 accused the government of "hiding" the role it played in privatising the cash-rich telecom company and the role of its nominee in the company board.

"While the patently illegal act of the Tata management has to be blocked, the key issue is the process of disinvestment that allowed VSNL to fall into the hands of a private company for less than even its cash reserve of Rs 3,000 crore," the CPM politburo said in a statement.

The Minister for Communications, in criticising the Tatas, was hiding the government's role in the disinvestments of the cash-rich company, it said.

"This is not only a fraud on the current shareholders of the VSNL, but also on the people, as the government still holds a 26 per cent stake in VSNL."

CPM said the VSNL case had become public, but the pattern in other cash-rich companies that were being privatised such as IPCL was no different.

"To stop this private loot of public money, the disinvestment in such cash-rich public sector undertakings (PSUs) needs to be halted immediately," it added.

PTI