The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) privatisation is now concerning several other parties besides the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP.)
The Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D. Raja, on the 23rd of February, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his letter, the CPI General Secretary requested him to reconsider the Central Government’s decision to privatise the VSP.
The letter read, “We strongly oppose the disastrous proposal of your government to implement 100 per cent strategic disinvestment in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL) by way of privatisation. Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is a Navratna company under the ministry of steel, Government of India. Over 50 years ago, 23,000 acre farm land was acquired to set up the steel plant. Farmers were not paid their money properly. Now the land is worth lakhs of crores of rupees. If the present move is allowed, a private company will take over the steel plant and grab the land.”
Similar to the TDP, the CPI also alleged the YSRCP Government of not making any effort to explore all possibilities to run the plant.
He said, no iron ore mine has been allotted to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant adding that all private steel plants get iron ore mines and pointing out that lakhs of people are directly and indirectly working for the steel plant.
Mr. Raja said, “People of Andhra Pradesh, political parties and trade unions have been opposing the disastrous move of privatisation. Even the state government headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, pointing out that the plant stands as a testimony to the will of the Telugu people, has asked the Union Government to reconsider its decision.
The Raja Singh said, “While opposing the privatisation of the steel plant, our party, the Communist Party of India, demands that the government cancel the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and immediately allot iron-ore mines.”
Since a month, the Andhra Pradesh Government (YSRCP,) the TDP and other leaders are protesting against VSP privatisation.
The agitation started after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cleared the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP.)
