Our Economic Bureau

New Delhi, June 14: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament, Kirit Somaiya, has urged the Union government to reject the demand of the multinational tobacco company BAT, for increasing its shareholding in the VST.

He said that the government should take care of all professionally managed companies like VST, ITC, HDFC, ICICI and BSES to prevent takeover by foreign multinational companies.

In a letter to commerce minister Murasoli Maran, Mr Somaiya said that in countries like USA and China no foreign equity participation is permitted in tobacco companies. Mr Somaiya also met the industries secretary P Mankand in this regard. As president of the Investors Grievances Forum (IGF), Mr Somaiya met officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and urged the board to reconsider guidelines pertaining to takeover code.