Jagan assures VSP workers of plant protection, responds to privatisation concerns

YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy assured Visakhapatnam Steel Plant employees of his commitment to safeguard the plant, respond to privatisation concerns, and support their demands for captive mines, SAIL merger, and reinstatement of retrenched staff.

Visakhapatnam: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday assured the employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) that saving the plant has always been the sole objective of the party.

He reiterated his commitment to protect the VSP when employees called on him during his tour of Narsipatnam and Visakhapatnam.

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The employees submitted a petition outlining their concerns.

According to YSRCP, the VSP employees said that, despite giving an election promise to safeguard the steel plant, the TDP-led coalition has betrayed them after coming to power. They appealed to YS Jagan to extend his support to ensure the survival of the plant.

Responding positively to their plea, Jagan assured them that, whether in power or in opposition, his stance will remain the same: “YSRCP will always fight to safeguard the steel plant.”

He emphasised that the party’s mission is to “prevent privatisation and to stand firmly with the workers in their struggle”.

The workers also placed three key demands before the government. They urged that the Union Cabinet’s decision on privatisation must be reversed by pressuring the Central Government. They demanded that exclusive captive mines be allocated to the Visakha Steel Plant, and that the plant be merged with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). They also called for the reinstatement of all retrenched employees.

The workers made it clear that they will intensify their agitation until these demands are addressed.

Meanwhile, flexis of K. Sudhakar have come up in Narsipatnam in Anakapalli district during Jagan’s visit to launch party’s campaign against privatisation of medical colleges.

“YSRCP Never again. Those who murder Dr Sudhakar after failing to provide masks are talking about medical colleges. People, beware,” reads the flexi.

It was not clear who installed the flexi. Some Dalit organisations had demanded Jagan to apologise to Sudhakar’s family before visiting Narsipatnam. They had threatened to disrupt his visit.

Doctor K. Sudhakar (55) was suspended from Narsipatnam Area Hospital in 2020 for openly criticising the then YSRCP for failing to provide PPE kits, masks and other protective gear to the doctors and nurses engaged in COVID treatment at hospitals. He was allegedly manhandled by the police in Visakhapatnam. The incident had kicked up a huge row and the High Court had ordered a CBI probe.

While undergoing treatment at KGH in Visakhapatnam, he was sent to Government Hospital of Mental Care for treatment and assessment of his mental health.

Sudhakar died of cardiac arrest in 2021. His family members said that he was depressed over not being reinstated.