The united struggle against privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) will be intensified till the Union government repealed its decision on privatisation of the plant. The Prime Minister will be greeted with black flags during his forthcoming visit, trade union leaders and displaced persons have said.
They were speaking at a public meeting organised, under the Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) and All Party Trade Unions JAC, at the Gandhi statue, near GVMC, on Sunday, to mark the completion of 500 days of the agitation against privitisation of the VSP.
The speakers demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make an announcement on revocation of the decision before embarking on his tour of Andhra Pradesh to participate in the 125th birth anniversary of revolutionary freedom fighter Alluri Sitharama Raju on July 4.
CITU State president Ch. Narasinga Rao demanded allotment of captive mines to the VSP.
AITUC leader D. Adinarayana said that VSP was providing livelihood to one crore people and 8,000 displaced persons, who had given their lands for establishment of VSP, were yet to get jobs. The sale of lands in VSP would not be allowed, he said.
YSR Trade Union State president T. Gowtham Reddy said that VSP workers had put in their best efforts, despite the pandemic situation, and put the steel plant on the road to profit. He said that resisting of the private buyers from entering the plant premises was the best way out in view of the adamant attitude of the BJP government.
Kula Vivaksha Porata Samithi (KVPS) leader Raju said that SC/ST/BC communities would have to forego the rule of reservation, if the steel plant was privatised. He alleged that the BJP government was cheating the people but dreaming of winning in Andhra Pradesh in the 2024 general elections.
INTUC leaders Mantri Rajasekhar and N. Ramachandra Rao said that the workers were prepared to take the agitation till its logical conclusion.
Lakshmi of Progressive Organisation of Women (POW) recalled that VSP was born out of struggles of the people and only united struggles could prevent the plant from being privatised.
CFTUI leader Dasari Suresh said that PSU s were not meant to earn profit but to ensure prosperity of the people and nation.
JAC chairmen M. Jaggu Naidu, vice-chairmen Padala Ramana and B. Nagabushanam presided.
TNTUC State president G. Raghurama Rajulu, CPI(M) leader B. Ganga Rao, HMS leader D. Appalaraju, AIDWA representative Padma, DITU representative Chittibabu, AICTU district leader R. Narayana Rao and Displaced Persons Association representative Bhaskara Rao and G. Satya Rao were among those who spoke.
Earlier, the VSP employees took out a motorcycle rally from the Steel Plant Arch to the DRM Office junction at Dondaparthy. They participated in the rally from Dondaparthy to the Gandhi statue on foot. The police diverted traffic in view of the rally.
