Senior leaders of the trade unions representing Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Samithi met Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday in Visakhapatnam at Madhurawada campsite, where he has halted while on his Memanta Siddham bus yatra in north Andhra.
VSP union leaders explained to the CM the move of central government to privatise the steel plant on grounds including incurring losses and facing shortage of raw materials.
The Chief Minister heard them and emphasised that the state government and YSR Congress Party are standing in support of the workers fighting against the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
Jagan Mohan Reddy informed the union leaders that he has already written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proposing solutions for the steel plant issue.
“Furthermore, we have passed a resolution in the assembly opposing privatisation of the steel plant,” he pointed out.
The YSRC chief said opposition parties, who have formed the NDA alliance, have abandoned their moral principles and values when it comes to the steel plant, thus revealing their stance.
He underlined that permanent allocation of iron ore mines will significantly improve the plant's condition. He maintained that he is tirelessly working towards the revival of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, exerting constant pressure on the central government.
Industries minister Gudivada Amarnath, speaking to reporters separately, maintained that the central government has put on hold privatisation of the steel plant because the state government has not given its consent to it.
Trade union leaders who met the Chief Minister included Ch. Narsinga Rao, D. Adinarayana and Mantri Rajasekhar. They suggested that the state government make efforts to merge RINL, the corporate entity of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, with the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
They underlined that similar attempts of privatising steel plants in West Bengal, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu had failed because of peoples’ agitation.
The leaders told the CM that the steel plant had been established after a prolonged “Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku” movement in which 32 people sacrificed their lives.
