Andhra Pradesh: NDA policies led to crisis in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, says CITU leader

Addressing a seminar in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, he pointed out that though the NDA government has once again come to power at the centre with reduced majority, it is still continuing its anti-labour, anti-farmer and anti-people policies.

Tapan Sen said the central government could come to the rescue of VSP by merging its holding company RINL (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited) with the SAIL and allocating captive mines for running the steel plant to its full capacity.

The CITU national general secretary asked trade unions to continuously monitor developments and proposals being made with regard to VSP by the government and the local management. He asked the local leadership to create awareness among the plant workers about the necessity to start an agitation if the government failed to revive the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

He pointed out how the workers’ struggle revived the IISCO Steel Plant at Burnpur in the past.

Speaking on the occasion, former VSP chairman and managing director Y. Sivasagar Rao underlined that the future of the country depended on usage of steel. India has set a target of producing 300 million tonnes of steel by 2030, he pointed out.

Steel Workers Federation of India general secretary Lalit Mishra said Indian industry is like a mother. It is the responsibility of all to protect it by participating in struggles, if necessary.

State CITU general secretary Ch. Narsinga Rao said workers and machines at the VSP suffered severe losses due to the management's ill-advised decisions.