Allahabad, Oct 17: Attacking the government for its bid to sell off public-sector petroleum companies, All India Petroleum Workers Federation on Thursday threatened to launch a nationwide strike against the move. The representatives of trade unions in the petroleum sector will meet on November 16 to chart out a programme of agitation against the proposed disinvestment of HPCL and BPCL and the government's newly announced proposal to sell off IOC, Satrughan Prasad Singh, the vice president of the federation, a body representing unions from across the country, told reporters here.
Condemning the NDA government's intention to "circumvent" a Supreme Court ruling that halted the disinvestment of HPCL and BPCL, he alleged that the government was under tremendous pressure from outside the country, particularly from the US, to proceed with the sell-off of petroleum companies. Bureau Report