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PMO asks DoD to halt Nalco due diligence

The Prime Minister's Office is understood to have directed the divestment ministry not to send any more bidders to Orissa for the due diligence exercise for Nalco in the face of resistance from various quarters including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik against privatisation of the aluminium giant.

The direction is understood to have been issued after the divestment ministry sought to know as to when it could start sending the bidders' team for continuing the due diligence.

The Nalco privatisation process came under a cloud with mines minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti going on record that she had some reservations about the issue, and that she would take up her ministry's point of view with the Prime Minister.

Bharti met the PM last week within days of a team of Hindalco, one of the 15 bidders, was roughed up in Orissa by some Congress activists and Nalco workers when it came for the due diligence exercise.

Immediately after the incident, the divestment ministry had put a temporary halt on the process for going into the reasons for incidents after it received complaints from Hindalco chief A K Agarawala that his team was not provided adequate safety.

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