Steel workers stage dharna at VSP office

Visakha Ukku Porata Committee representatives staging a dharna outside the Administrative Building of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, on Thursday.

Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Samithi has demanded that the Centre revoke its decision on the strategic sale of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

The committee staged a dharna at the administrative office of VSP on Thursday in protest against the remarks of the Centre that there was no going back on the decision.

Samithi leaders said that former CBI Joint Director V.V. Lakshminarayana had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Andhra Pradesh High Court against the decision of the Centre on the strategic sale of VSP. The Centre, in its counter in the court, made irresponsible statements that incensed VSP employees, who were already agitated by its decision, they said, adding that the BJP government was trying to sell public assets to corporate groups. They said that protests would be held in Delhi on August 2 and 3.

Committee leaders J. Ayodhyaram, Mantri Rajasekhar, D. Adinarayana, Y.T. Das, Gandham Venkata Rao, K. Satyanarayana Rao, Murali Raju and Y. Mastanappa participated.