Parties scramble to use VSP privatisation for political mileage

Visakhapatnam: Inviting bid towards Expression of Interest (EoI) for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has taken Ukku stir to the next level.

In order to make its presence felt nationwide and get closer to the people of Andhra Pradesh, the BRS is utilising EoI to its favour.

Slowly but steadily, Telangana government's involvement in the bidding is resulting in a political 'steel' war between two Telugu states.

And the battle is mainly among the BJP, BRS and YSRCP. While the BJP-led NDA government claims that it is saving the loss-making plant through invitation for EoI, the BRS maintains that it prefers to go for bidding to protect the plant from getting privatised.

Opposing the move of both the parties, the ruling party in Andhra Pradesh makes it clear that the YSRCP is against privatisation right from the beginning. By participating in the bidding, pointing out at the decision taken by the BRS for bidding, the YSRCP alleges that it is a clear indication that the BRS is favouring privatisation.

For the past few days, the political party leaders belonging to both the Telugu states have been levelling allegations against one another for their stand on saving VSP from getting sold to private players.

BRS state president Thota Chandrasekhar in his recent visit to Visakhapatnam said that the Union government was keen on pushing the steel plant into losses and handing it over to corporate players. "Our attempts are to stop that with immediate effect," he claimed.

Responding to the decision of Telangana government, BJP state general secretary P V N Madhav said that the BRS should first focus on reopening the closed industries in their state before coming to the aid of the neighbouring state.

Wondering about the role of the Telangana government, IT and industries minister Gudivada Amarnath clarified that state governments do not have any scope for bidding towards EoI. Responding to a query as to why AP government is not participating in the bidding, the minister made it clear that the YSRCP is against privatisation move and distances itself from bidding as per the policy. "However, BRS seems to have its own political agenda in interfering in the Ukku stir. But it needs to clarify whether it is for privatisation or against it," Amarnath responded.

After two years of continued agitation, Ukku stir has become a weapon for the political parties to gain mileage ahead of 2024 polls.