Despite repeated requests by the Andhra Pradesh MPs belonging to the YSR Congress party and Telugu Desam Party, the Narendra Modi government is hell bent on privatising the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, come what may.
Within a day after YSRC general secretary and parliamentary party leader V Vijay Sai Reddy claiming that he had mobilised signatures of over 120 MPs to stall the steel plant privatisation process, the Centre made its stand very clear once again on the floor of the House.
Union minister of steel Ramachandra Prasad Singh replied to the questions raised by YSRC MPs Margani Bharat and TDP MPs K Rammohan Naidu and Kesineni Nani in Lok Sabha that the government had taken a policy decision to privatise the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, also known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
He said the steel plant was in deep losses of over Rs 7,000 crore and hence, it was proposed to private it. Moreover, the productivity of the steel plant was also very low and the problem would not be solved even if it was allotted captive mines.
“A decision was taken to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant after a thorough discussion and evaluation. The steel plant would make a turnaround if it is entrusted to the private parties and it would also result in the development of the area,” the Union minister asserted.
Bharat tried to convince the Centre that the steel plant was formed after sacrifices of millions of people. Thousands of people had given their lands to the steel plant and their sacrifices would go waste if the steel plant is privatised.
He reminded that there was no guarantee for the jobs of hundreds of steel plant workers, who had been struggling day and night to improve its productivity.
The steel plant was achieving a record turnover of Rs 20,000 crore every year, he said and requested that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the process and stall the privatisation.