A number of struggles and a lot of sacrifice has led to the establishment of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) but politicians are out to destroy it for their vested interests, opined the former Vice-Chancellor of Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Y. Satyanarayana.
He was speaking at a round table meeting organised to oppose the privatisation of VSP, at the TLN Sabha Hall of Andhra University, in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
The steel plant was like a necklace for the city, besides being a national asset. The privatisation of the plant would result in loss of employment and livelihood for the local people. Production and supply should be in the hands of the government, he opined.
D. Suvarna Raju, a former president of AU Students’ Union, who had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, said that handing over VSP to a private player, would deprive the underprivileged sections of the benefit of reservations. He deplored the adamant attitude of the Centre on going ahead with the strategic sale of VSP.
N. Desinga Raju, a former professor, expressed the view that as VSP was a public sector enterprise, the opinions of the public should be taken through a referendum before going ahead with the decision on privatisation. A number of former professors participated in the round table.
