Rasta rokos planned across Andhra Pradesh against move to privatise VSP on May 3

A roundtable on the issues pertaining to the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) was organised by Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee here on April 19 (Wednesday) and its participants including leaders of CPI, CPI(M), TDP, Congress and various trade unions decided that the agitation would continue until the Central government dropped its plans to privatise the steel plant. The participants also decided to organise rasta rokos across Andhra Pradesh on May 3. They urged all political parties and trade unions to support the cause. 

A roundtable on the issues pertaining to the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) was organised by Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee here on April 19 (Wednesday) and its participants including leaders of CPI, CPI(M), TDP, Congress and various trade unions decided that the agitation would continue until the Central government dropped its plans to privatise the steel plant.

The participants also decided to organise rasta rokos across Andhra Pradesh on May 3. They urged all political parties and trade unions to support the cause. 

The speakers demanded that the government must run the steel plant at 100% capacity and that State government mount pressure on the Centre to allow the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to participate in the bid.

Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee members said that the steel plant was established following the sacrifice of 32 people. The plant was established on 20,000 acres parted with by farmers. The government has invested about ₹5,000 crore on the steel plant. About ₹50,000 crore was paid towards taxes, and the steel plant earned profits last year, but plant capacity came down due to the closure of one blast furnace. There were no captive mines for the steel plant, which was providing employment to lakhs of people and that produced quality steel, they pointed out. 

They said that despite vehement opposition to the privatisation move, the Central government was paying no heed to the people’s agitation. The Centre was determined to hand over the company on a platter to private players and the move was aimed at benefitting the corporate, not the people and Andhra Pradesh. The State would suffer if the Centre went ahead with its privatisation plans. All political parties including BJP, should support the cause, they added. 

AITUC State general secretary G. Obulesu presided over the meeting. CITU State general secretary Ch. Narasing Rao, State president V. Umamaheswara Rao, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna, CPI(M) State secretary V. Srinivasa Rao, TDP leader Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, YSRCP Trade Union State secretary P. Gowtham Reddy, Congress district leader Naraharisetti Narasimha Rao, farmers associations leaders Y. Kesava Rao, Prabhakar  Reddy, K.V.V. Prasad, M. Haribabu and others spoke sat the roundtable.