The Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, addressed Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s concerns over the corporatisation of the Modern Coach Factory in her Lok Sabha constituency Raebareli. He said that her worries over the MCF are based on "misguided and imaginary fears". Piyush Goyal also asked her to stop falling for "fear-mongering" on the loss of jobs in a five-page letter to Sonia Gandhi in which he brought up these issues.  

Piyush Goyal's Letter To Sonia Gandhi

Railway Minister, Piyush Goyal answered the Congress leader and expressed surprise over her opposition to the public sector undertakings (PSUs). India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru described PSUs as "temples of modern India", he cited, adding "I note with great sadness that based on some misguided and imaginary fears, you are now opposing our plan for taking MCF, Raebareli to the next level of development and expansion." He also added that corporatisation will enable higher investment and promotion of better technology and create an environment that will boost efficiency in operation and innovation. He also wrote, "I further urge you to not fall for any fearmongering on the security of livelihoods of the workers of these PSUs (production units)... There is no retrenchment, rather railways may increase hiring as MCF moves towards becoming the world's largest coach manufacturer." 

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Background 

The government during the Lok Sabha proceedings decided to separate seven of its production units and associated workshops into a new government-owned entity - Indian Railway Rolling Stock Company. The Congress President, Sonia Gandhi, then accused the government of secretly trying to “privatise” the MCF in Raebareli. She was amongst one of the significant persons instrumental in bringing the MCF in Raebareli along with the Railway Minister Lalu Prasad under the erstwhile UPA government. She accused the government of planning to corporatise the MCF even though it was one of the "most modern plants" making good quality coaches in the market. 

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The MCF in Raebareli has manufactured 554 Linke Hofman Busch (LHB) in the first four months of the current financial year. On the other hand, the number of coaches made from April to July stands at 554. The number of LHBs made this year is higher than the same period in the last financial year which saw 368 LHBs being manufactures. Thus, the increase in the production of coaches this year is 50% higher than the last. 

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