Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who represents Visakhapatnam North Assembly constituency, has again appealed to Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Thammineni Seetharam to accept his resignation which he tendered in protest against the privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) in February last year.
In a letter to the Speaker on Monday, Mr. Srinivasa Rao recalled that he submitted a one-line resignation in the ‘Speaker format’ on February 12, 2021. “I had met you (Mr. Seetharam) in person and requested to accept my resignation. You have not accepted the same even as one year has passed ever since,” the MLA said.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao expressed anguish that neither the Centre nor the Government of Andhra Pradesh seemed to be serious on the VSP issue even as the employees had been organising relay hunger strikes and other protests for more than a year now.
“The Centre issued a notification on March 11 pertaining to appointment of a consultant to calculate the total value of VSP. The move is a mockery of the sacrifices made by the people who had given away 22,000 acres of land for the plant and to the employees who have been fighting for justice, and to the sentiment of the Telugu people,” said the TDP MLA.
Reiterating his commitment to protection of the VSP, Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that his resignation would help extend moral support to the agitating steel workers.
In a tweet, Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that his resignation was a ‘small thing’ for Visakhapatnam, the city which gave him social status and political life. “I am ready for any sacrifice,” he said.
