State govt should back stir against VSP privatisation, says Undavalli

PNS|Vijayawada

Former Congress MP Undavalli Arun Kumar has called for intensifying the movement against privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) and opined that the State government should come forward in support of it. He said that safeguarding the VSP is important for the nation and this message should be taken to the people strongly.

Undavalli, along with actor Narayana Murthy and former CBI JD VV Lakshminarayana, participated in the ‘Steel Plant Parirakshana Praja Vedika’ programme organised at the Alluri Vignana Bhavan in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. On the occasion, Undavalli said that VSP privatisation will be a huge loss to Andhra Pradesh, so all sections of people should wage a united fight against the Central government’s decision.

VSP is a public sector company that was achieved through people’s struggle, Undavalli said and alleged that if given a chance, Prime Minister Modi sell everything as capitalism is his ideology. Former CBI JD Lakshminarayana said that VSP should be continued as a public sector company and that people from all walks of life should be sensitised on the issue.

He recalled that 3,000 tonnes of steel for the construction of the Sardar Vallabhai Patel statue, 8,000 tonnes for the construction of a tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir, and 21,000 tonnes for the construction of houses under PM Awaas Yojana scheme was supplied from Vizag Steel Plant.

A case was filed in the court against privatisation of VSP and till now the counter was not filed by the Central government, he said and added that after Modi took the reins as PM public sector companies are slipping into the hands of a few private players. He further recalled that Hindustan Zinc was also sold to Vedanta company and now it is turned into Reliance estate. He appealed to the people to collectively fight against VSP privatisation.

Actor Narayana Murthy recalled that the VSP movement has a 50-year-old history and many people had sacrificed their lives. He found fault with the sale of Gangavaram port which was in profits and took a dig at Modi for privatisation of education, health, Railways, LIC, banks, and other public sector organisations. He said that injustice was done to Andhra Pradesh right from the beginning.

Bifurcation promises like Special Category Status and Railway zone are yet to be implemented. He said that if the raw material is provided VSP will be in profit. Modi is hell-bent to hand over public sector companies to Adani and Ambani. He appealed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman to assure that VSP remains a public sector company. Writers Academy chairman VV Ramana Murthy, AITUC leader D Adinarayana and others were present.