Describing the attempt to prevent the State government from participating in an open bidding for HLL Lifecare Limited as not in accordance with the principles of cooperative federalism, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday registered the State’s protest against the stand taken by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
“Preventing a State government from participating in the open bidding will not be in accordance with the principles of cooperative federalism. The State government has the competence accorded to it by the Constitution to take a decision on its own on such matters,” he said in the letter.
He told the Prime Minister that the land for HLL Lifecare Ltd. was acquired and handed over to the Centre by the State government for setting up a specific project. If the Centre proposed not to retain HLL Lifecare Ltd as a government entity, it should give the State government the option to retain it as a public sector unit (PSU) under the State.
