CPI calls OFB corporatisation an anti-national step
The Hindu
D. Raja accuses govt of taking ‘anti-people’ decision under the cover of COVID-19
A day after the Union Cabinet approved the corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of taking this “anti-people” decision under the cover of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, CPI general secretary D. Raja said that at least five ministers in the past, including the late Manohar Parrikar, had asserted that the ordnance factories would not be corporatised. He called it an anti-national step. “The decision of the Modi government to corporatise the ordnance factories will have a serious impact on the national security, defence preparedness and self-reliance of the country. Therefore, the Communist Party of India outrightly rejects and opposes the decision of the government,” he said.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.