Unfazed Centre makes another move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

Visakhapatnam: Unperturbed by the protests opposing its move to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the Centre appears to be making some quick moves in the direction of privatisation.

It is learnt that the Central government has written a letter to RINL to submit details of the assets and liabilities of the steel plant, total value of the land, etc. The Centre may opt for private bidding. It is also said to have constituted a five-member committee to work out the details of 100 percent disinvestment.

All this is happening even as the employees and social activists as well as political parties have been opposing the move. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had recently written a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to reconsider the issue.

On Tuesday, the state Cabinet decided to pass a resolution in the Assembly asking the Centre to reconsider the issue in the wake of the sentiment of the people that is attached to the steel plant. YSRC parliamentary party leader Vijayasai Reddy had stated in Vizag that his party would fight against the move both inside and outside Parliament.

The State BJP has been adopting flip flop attitude. State party president Somu Veeraraju went to Delhi and claimed that he had submitted a memorandum to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman to reconsider the decision. Later, he accused the Opposition parties in the State of making mountain out of mole hill though there has been no notification to privatise the steel plant.

Even the BJP's ally Jana Sena president Pavan Kalyan went to Delhi and met all the top leaders of the BJP and said that they had opposed the move.