Demand to cancel contract of Vizag Steel with Jindal

CPM State secretary V Srinivasa Rao has demanded immediate cancellation of the contract with Jindal Steel to run blast furnace-3 in Visakha Steel Plant. The management of the third furnace should be entrusted to SAIL, he added.
He lamented that the Central government closed down the state-of-the-art Blast furnace- 3 at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant 23 months ago. Further, on the pretext of lack of funds to buy raw materials, production has been reduced and the Visakha Steel Plant is suffering losses. Now, Jindal has been entrusted to run the third furnace and the Central government led by BJP is acting strategically to privatise the Vizag Steel Plant. He cautioned that the people of the State would not accept the sale or closure of Visakha Steel and that the State committee of the CPM was expressing its solidarity with the agitation of the steel workers.
Srinivasa Rao recalled that earlier, the BJP government tried to sell Vizag Steel to Posco company, but failed due to protests of workers and political parties. Now, it is planning to sell Vizag Steel in parts and units under which Visakha Steel Plant signed an agreement with Jindal Company handing over furnace-3. He pointed out that the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) was a Central government sector steel industry and incorporated with Bhilai, Bokaro and Durgapur industries. He claimed that the tie-up of Vizag Steel with SAIL would give the company increased market access to sell steel in South India. He further claimed that the raw material needed to run the Visakha Steel Plant can be obtained from SAIL, so both Visakha Steel Plant and SAIL will benefit from the deal.
Srinivasa Rao expressed fear that by incorporating a private company with Vizag Steel, existing jobs may be eliminated and there will be no reservation. He further feared that this is a wrong move where private companies completely destroy the public sector for their own profit. He added that the CPM State committee is demanding immediate cancellation of the contract with Jindal company.