Reacting to the proposed strategic sale of RINL, reactions poured in from all political parties, across the State.
Supporting the agitation taken up by Left parties, employees of RINL and trade unions, here, Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan said that it has to be stopped and added that he will take it up personally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if required.
TDP leader Nara Lokesh, demanded why Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was silent on the issue. He went ahead to allege that not only RINL will be privatised, but the Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy would also sell Yarada Hill to private companies.
Senior TDP leader Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu said that all parties should come under one umbrella to step up the protest. He also said that discussions are on with all parties to call for a State-wide bandh.
TDP MLA P.G.V.R. Naidu said that a lot of sacrifice has gone into the setting up of the plant. Over 60 villages were acquired and 32 persons lost their lives. Moreover, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu had then actively participated in the ‘Visakha Ukku- Andhrula Hakku’ agitation and it is time that he intervenes to see that the sale is stopped.
TDP MP K. Rammohan Naidu, said that a lot of emotion is wrapped round this plant and it cannot be privatised just like that. He demanded that it has to be stopped at any cost.
TDP MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao said that RINL had turned into a loss-making unit just because the captive mines were not sanctioned. He cautioned that RINL agitation could turn similar to the farmers agitation, if the decision is not revoked.
BJP MP Sujana Chowdary said that merging the RINL with SAIL would be a better proposition than outright sale. He also said that he would put forward his suggestion to the authorities concerned.
Former Joint Director of CBI V.V. Lakshminarayana, said that the Union government should reconsider its decision to privatise Vizag Steel Plant. Instead they should allot captive mines and make the plant operate to its full installed capacity.
Meanwhile, Twitter has gone abuzz with #Visakha Ukku- Andhrula Hakku.
Meanwhile, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Chinta Mohan on Friday demanded that the NDA government immediately stop the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
Staging a protest at his residence in Tirupati, the former Union Minister said that the privatisation was nothing but betrayal of the people of Andhra Pradesh and it would only throw the State into further backwardness.
