G Srinivasa Rao Resigns Over Vizag Steel Plant Row

Former minister and TDP MLA from Visakhapatnam North Ganta Srinivasa Rao today tendered his resignation from his post.

In a show of protest against the privatisation of the historic Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), he handed in his papers to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram, and urged the latter to accept his resignation as soon as the decision to privatise the plant was implemented.

Addressing the matter, he said that he had resigned from the post to register his protest against the Centre's decision to privatise the plant which had cited "negligible losses" to allow private players to gain control of the plant.

Assailing the union government for the decision, the TDP leader added, "The VSP is a part of the identity of the city. It was set up in 1977 after a long and bitter struggle. Several people even lost their lives in the agitation to establish the plant."

He also quoted the slogan ‘Visakha ukku Andhrula hakku’ (Visakha steel is Andhra’s right), popularly used in the 1970s movement fighting for the establishment of the plant.

A day earlier, Rao had appealed to Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to stall the move, saying that as CM, the latter was responsible for blocking the Centre's decision.

He had also urged the "intellectuals", labour unions and political parties in the state to forget their political differences, and come together to form "a non-political joint action committee" to resist the Centre's bid to privatise the VSP.

"A large-scale protest is surely going to be effective in stalling the steel plant from falling into the hands of a private player. We must all be ready to plunge ourselves into the effort to ensure this," the MLA had said.

Meanwhile, the employees and labour unions of the plant held huge protests as well, and demanded that the union government immediately withdraw its decision.

The local YSR Congress Party leaders also extended their support to the protestors, and expressed their solidarity by holding a massive rally in the city. They even vowed that they would not allow Centre to implement its decision to privatise the plant.