YSRCP questions Telangana govt’s plan to bid for Vizag steel plant

The ruling YRSCP in Andhra Pradesh reacted with disbelief on the Telangana government’s attempt to support the cause of workers of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, better known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, who are strongly resisting the central government’s move to privatise it.

The ruling YSR Congress party (YRSCP) in Andhra Pradesh reacted with disbelief on the Telangana government’s attempt to support the cause of workers of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), better known as Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, who are strongly resisting the central government’s move to privatise it.

State-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd steel plant in Visakhapatnam. (PTI)

A five-member delegation of officials from the Telangana government-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), including three directors, visited the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Tuesday to study the feasibility of participating in the Expression of Interest (EOI) for providing working capital or supply of raw material to the plant.

Though the bidding is only for the supply of raw material to the steel plant, it led to the talk that the Telangana government is evincing interest in bidding for the steel plant itself, when it is put up for privatisation.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi Andhra Pradesh unit president Thota Chandrasekhar said the Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would take a call on participating in the bid for the steel plant after studying its feasibility. “KCR is firm on stalling the privatisation of the steel plant, which is the right of Andhra people,” he said.

He reminded that as per the Union finance ministry guidelines issued one-and-a-half years ago, PSEs of the Centre and the state governments are not eligible to participate in the bidding and the YSRC is totally against privatisation of the steel plant.

Amarnath said that Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had opposed privatisation of the steel plant. “Now, how can he acquire the same? Does this mean the BRS wants the plant to be privatised?’’ he questioned.

YSRC general secretary and government advisor on public affairs, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government had already opposed the strategic disinvestment of the steel plant. “The chief minister had suggested several alternatives to bail out the steel plant from losses,” he said.

Stating that the chief minister had written to the Centre to allocate captive mines to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Reddy said the state assembly had even passed a resolution opposing the privatisation of the steel plant.