Andhra BRS chief Thota Chandrasekhar slams Centre’s move to privatise VSP

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president Thota Chandrasekhar on Monday attended a meeting of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) workers at the party office in Visakhapatnam. He called the decision to privatise the plant brutal and said, “We will strive hard to protect the plant and safeguard it for future generations.”

He recalled his student days when he witnessed the agitation for the setting up of the steel plant. “I was brought up in Visakhapatnam and pursued post graduation and PhD here. My selection for the IAS was also from here. I learnt a lot from Visakhapatnam,” said the BRS leader.

Alleging that the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant was pushed into losses despite the workers increasing the assets, Mr. Chandrasekhar said the Centre was conspiring to hand over the steel plant assets to the Adani Group.

Three demands

· Revoking the decision to privatise the steel plant

· Allotment of mines to the plant

· Giving the lands back to the displaced families

“The Centre had mulled a plan in the name of a disinvestment programme to hand over public assets to private powers, especially to the Adani group. Adani group, which acquired Gangavaram port for imports, is now conspiring to take the lands of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant for coal imports,” alleged Mr. Chandrasekhar. He sought an assistance of Rs. 5,000 crores for the plant and assured that it would be paid back with interest.

“As the ruling and Opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh kept calm against the privatisation, the BRS government in Telangana has come forward to participate in the bidding process,” he further stated.