In a virtual snub to Bharat Rashtra Samithi led by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Centre has confirmed that it is going ahead with the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, come what may.
The BRS leaders began claiming credit for the purported statement of Union minister of state for steel Faggan Singh Kulaste on Thursday that there was no immediate plan for privatising the Vizag Steel Plant.
They spread the message in the social media that the Centre had put on hold the steel plant privatisation.
The Telangana leaders, including state industries minister K T Rama Rao said the Centre had yielded to the pressures of KCR, who was planning to bid for expression of interest in the steel plant. “It is the first victory of BRS in Andhra,” said the party president of AP Thota Chandrasekhar.
However, on Friday, the Union ministry of steel clarified that there is no freeze on the disinvestment process of the RINL. Clarifying about some media reports regarding hold on the disinvestment process of RINL, the ministry of steel said that disinvestment process of RINL was under progress.
“Efforts are being made by the company and supported by the Government to improve the performance of RINL and keep it as a going concern,” the statement said.
While the statement attributed the ‘hold’ on the disinvestment process to some media reports, it did not mention that it was a statement from the Union minister, who said there was no immediate plan to go for privatization of the steel plant.
He said instead, efforts would be made to sort out issues related to mining for the plant and to strengthen the plant to run on its own.
Later in the day, during an interaction with union leaders of the VSP, Singh did a volte-face saying that a decision on the strategic disinvestment of RINL was not in his purview as it was a Cabinet decision, thus triggering confusion on the Centre’s actual plans.