The CPM- AP unit has sought Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to take steps for a permanent solution to ensure that the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant continues to be in the Public Sector. In a letter to the Chief Minister, CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao welcomed the central government’s announcement of a package of Rs 11,440 crore as immediate assistance to the Steel Plant.
However, he said that this is only a temporary relief and further steps should be taken to ensure that the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant survives. He said that it is the people’s desire to merge Visakhapatnam Steel with SAIL and provide a permanent solution to this.
He also urged Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy to take steps in this direction in the future. He suggested that by merging Visakhapatnam Steel with SAIL immediately, the problems of investment, market and mines would be resolved.
He asked Chandrababu Naidu to use his influence in the central government to ensure that the merger with SAIL is done. He said that for the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to run stably and profitably, it needs its own mines.
He wondered that while asking the Centre to allocate mines for the ArcelorMittal factory and also allowing it to have its own port to facilitate supply through pipeline, the CPM leader asked why mines are not allocated for Visakhapatnam Steel? As the Chief Minister is aware that it is difficult to get out of the crisis without allocating mines, he demanded that Naidu should ask the Central Government to immediately allocate mines.
Srinivasa Rao said that along with the announcement of the package, the Central Government has not yet made an announcement on the issue of privatization of Visakhapatnam Steel. He said that the agitation being carried out by the workers for the last four years has to end.
He made it clear that no matter which government is in power in the state, they have opposed privatization in accordance with the will of the people, and if the Central Government does not withdraw this proposal, the danger of privatization will not go away.
He said that Visakhapatnam Steel, which was formed with the sacrifices of 32 lives, is a symbol of the heartbeat of Andhra Pradesh. He urged the state government to use all its influence to see that the central cabinet withdraws the privatization decision, taking into account the sentiments of the people.
