VSP condition has become worse: Amarnath

Visakhapatnam: Former IT minister Gudivada Amarnath alleged that the alliance government in the state is not committed towards protecting Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).

At the media conference held in Visakhapatnam on Friday, he pointed out that the Central government is dependent on the support of the TDP-JSP. “If the TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu gives an ultimatum to the Centre that he would withdraw his support from the BJP if the latter did not stop privatisation of VSP, the company will definitely be protected. Naidu has a clear vision of what needs to be done for 2047. But it seems he fails to understand what has to be done to protect the VSP,” the former minister criticised.

As soon as the alliance government came to power, the condition of the VSP became worse. The HRA for the VSP employees has been stopped, while 4,200 contract employees were suspended from services. He urged Naidu to issue an ultimatum to the central government, just as was done to protect other plants in states like Karnataka and Gujarat.

Amarnath and YSRCP Visakhapatnam district president stated that the YSRCP along with steel plant workers and public organisations will organise protests, including dharnas, in the near future against the privatisation of the VSP.

The former minister stressed that it is the responsibility of the citizens of AP to protect the steel plant. He criticised the coalition government for taking steps to weaken the plant within just 100 days of coming into power. He pointed out that the blast furnace has already been shut down.

Amarnath said that YSRCP will not back down until a clear assurance is received from the Central government to stop the privatisation move. Further, he stated that the YSRCP will launch protests against privatisation of the VSP. Former MLAs Tippala Nagireddy, Chintalapudi Venkataramaiah and T Gurumurthy Reddy were present.