The statements made by BJP State president D. Purandeswari that the Union government is focussed on putting the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) on the road to profits and to prevent its sale, are made to fool people ahead of the ensuing general elections, allege Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leaders.
In a statement here on Wednesday, CITU State president Nageswara Rao and general secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao said that the statements of Ms. Purandeswari seem to have been made with an eye on the elections, with no real intention of implementing them. While all the private and public sector steel plants in the country have made good profits during the last two years, VSP was pushed into losses to the tune of ₹4,000 crore, due to the lopsided policies of the BJP-led NDA government, they alleged.
They said that the Centre had issued a notification on January 27, 2021, for 100% strategic sale of the VSP. They alleged that the Union Steel Ministry had entered into an MoU with the South Korea-based POSCO for sale of the plant. They also said that the Centre had entered into another MoU with Jindal group for supply of raw materials for operation of the third Blast Furnace of VSP, with the ultimate objective of handing over the steel plant to the private company, they alleged.
The CITU leaders alleged that Ms. Purandeswari’s statements were meant to divert the attention of the people ahead of the elections and to put the Modi government’s decision on sale of VSP in cold storage to gain mileage in the elections. They said that the steel workers and the people were not prepared to be deceived by the BJP government.
They also said that there was no truth in the statements of the BJP leaders that the lands of VSP would not be sold. The sale of the steel plant would, undoubtedly, result in the 22,000 acres of land, belonging to VSP, going into the hands of the private players. They demanded that the Centre revoke its decision on the strategic sale of VSP, allot captive mines and to supply raw materials, on loan, from the NMDC. They also sought cancellation of the agreement made with the Jindal group for supply of raw materials to BF III, and implementation of the pending wage revision for workers and officers.
