Strange are the ways of retired IPS officer and former joint director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) V V Lakshminarayana with regard to his stand on the proposed privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
On Friday, Lakshminarayana wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue and it made one wonder whether he is supporting or opposing the steel plant privatisation.
He said the public sector undertakings which were set up as a symbol of socialism were not yielding desired results. So, by privatising such PSUs, the Prime Minister was trying to save the hard-earned money of the tax payers, he praised.
“By selling away the PSUs, the Modi government is mobilising huge money and making efforts to create infrastructural facilities in the country. This will help Modi fulfil his objectives of India achieving 5 trillion dollars economy by 2025,” Lakshminarayana said.
In the same breath, the former CBI joint director pointed out that Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has its own uniqueness as it has been running with modern machinery and with international standards. This steel plant had fetched Rs 43,700 crore to the government in the form of taxes, he said.
He suggested that the Centre can explore alternative ways to sustain the steel plant.
“It can be merged with National Mineral Development Corporation, which can later be merged with Steel Authority of India Ltd to make it a mega steel plant. Several other industries like KIOCL which have iron ore mines could also be merged into this mega steel plant,” he said.