Naidu to send team to Centre to press for steel plant

Amaravati: Chief Minister and TDP president Nara Chandrababu Naidu had brainstorming discussions with the core group of party leaders and important bureaucrats before leaving to Kadapa on Saturday, where he announced key decision to invest 50 percent by state government in the much demanded Kadapa Steel Plant.

As the Central government was not responding to the demands, protests and indefinite hunger strike are being organised by the party, the TDP president decided to mount more pressure on the Union government by sending a team of members to New Delhi with three main proposals. They clearly explainthe need for establishing the Steel plant in Kadapa district. If the Centre does not accept the first proposal, then the team will inform that the stat government will invest 50 per cent of the total investment.

And, if the Central government does not accept the second proposal too, then the entire steel plant will be established by the State government with the help of private players in the market. These were the conclusions at the Teleconference held by Chief Minister with the officials, concerned ministers and other core group leaders of the party.

In the discussion, the leaders thought that if the Central government will say again the old story that they would not establish the plant at Kadapa, then the TDP will campaign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi government is not fulfilling the AP Reorganisation Act and other poll promises. If they oppose the second proposal of bearing 50 percent investment burden, then the state government and TDP would argue that they were not even considering this proposal too.

After exhausting all the possible routes in establishing the plant through Central government, the State government will establish it. If YSRCP, BJP or any other party would oppose it, then the TDP will have advantage over the issue, a senior leader observed in the conference, say highly placed sources.

In this entire process, Chief Minister said that, whatever may be the burden on the government, we will establish the plant. He announced the same in the public meeting while offering lemon water to the Rajya Sabha member CM Ramesh and other leaders engaged in indefinite hunger strike for the last 11 days. Chandrababu Naidu said that he want to bring the establishment of Steel Plant to a logical conclusion, which would create thousands of jobs and help for economic growth of the state.