Telangana Chief Minister, A Revanth Reddy will visit the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on 16 March (Saturday) to take part in a meeting that will address its privatisation, organised jointly by the Congress and the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Samithi, at Krishna Grounds.
According to reports, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President, Y S Sharmila will preside over the meeting, where a declaration will be adopted, seeking withdrawal of the move to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and disrupt its continuation in the public sector. Since becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana, this will be Revanth Reddy’s first public address in Visakhapatnam.
It may be recalled here that Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Andhra Pradesh promised the party’s support to the agitation. Former APCC President, Gidugu Rudraraju, said the Congress would include the steel plant issue in its party manifesto.
Meanwhile, the agitation against the VSP privatisation has crossed over 1,120 days. and there has been no positive response from the Central government. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) unions have maintained a peaceful protest for over three years following the in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in January 2021. The approval was for the strategic disinvestment of RINL, its joint ventures, and subsidiaries, with the aim of achieving 100% privatization.
As the elections are slated for next month, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant Conversation Struggle Committee has decided to step up the agitation to get assurance from the political parties on the burning issue. The main parties in the State – YSRCP and TDP – extended support to the agitation, but no serious effort was made to bring pressure on the Centre, opine the struggle committee leaders. It is expected that this visit to Visakhapatnam by Revanth Reddy, will encourage party activists to continue their efforts to agitate against the steel plant privatisation, and also improve the morale of the Congress party in view of the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Also Read: Lakshminarayana to contest for Visakha North constituency
This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu
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