Oppose attempts to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, former MLC urges people

Former MLC and Jan Vignana Vedika State president K.S. Lakshmana Rao on Tuesday urged people to resist the attempts to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and hand over the plant piece by piece to private firms.

Speaking at a roundtable organised by people’s organisations under the leadership of Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (Visakha Steel Plant Protection Struggle Committee) in Vijayawada, Mr. Lakshman Rao demanded cancellation of EOI (Expressions of Interest) issued for privatisation and urged the Andhra Pradesh government to mount pressure on the Centre.

Farmer leader V. Keshava Rao pledged farmers’ support to the workers’ struggle.

CITU state secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao alleged that the BJP-led Central government was accelerating privatisation with the support of the coalition government in the State. He criticised that the ₹11,440 crores allocated for the plant’s revival were diverted to repay bank loans instead of production, development, or workers’ welfare.

Condemning ‘forcible’ removal of 5,000 contract workers at the plant, he demanded their reinstatement and also demanded jobs for displaced families who gave land for the plant.

AITUC President R. Ravindranath accused the Centre of “Pushing privatisation, while the State government continued to mislead people saying there were no privatisation plans. He announced a statewide bus yatra to mobilise public resistance.

INTUC Secretary Kranti Kumar demanded immediate allocation of captive iron ore mines to VSP, instead of favouring Mittal Industries.

The meeting, chaired by the struggle committee Chairman D. Adinarayana passed a resolution to continue protests until privatisation is withdrawn, allocation of captive mines to VSP are secured, EoI bids cancelled, dismissed contract workers reinstated and attacks on employees stopped.

The leaders also decided to urge the TDP-led coalition government in the State to build pressure on the Central government to drop its privatisation move and launch massive protests across the State.

Leaders from trade unions, farmers’ associations, women’s groups, student and youth organisations participated in the roundtable.