VISAKHAPATNAM: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries, HD Kumaraswamy, refuted the allegations made by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal regarding the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).
Addressing the issue, Kumaraswamy clarified that 4,200 contract workers at the plant, whose employment had been terminated on September 27, were reinstated within 48 hours, with their jobs restored by September 29.
In post on social media platform X, the Union Minister called out Venugopal’s claims, urging him to “stop politicising the issue for cheap gains,” and stated that Venugopal was misinformed. Kumaraswamy pointed out that Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), which manages the steel plant, had already clarified that 3,700 contract labour passes had been temporarily cancelled, but efforts were underway to reinstate them.
He also mentioned that the workers’ biometric data would be restored, and all parties had agreed to continue the current gate pass system with improved facilities.
Kumaraswamy, who visited the plant in July and held discussions with workers and officials, assured them that their concerns would be addressed after consulting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. He brushed off Venugopal’s claims that the NDA government was attempting to sell off the plant as baseless. “Look at the numbers,” Kumaraswamy said, highlighting the growth of public sector undertakings (PSUs) under the NDA government. “The total market capitalisation of 81 listed PSUs has increased by 225% in the last three years under the NDA. Compare that to the UPA era, where the PSU index lagged behind the Sensex. During the NDA government from 1999 to 2004, PSU stocks surged by over 300%, but under UPA, they either grew slowly or declined,” he noted.
He concluded by stating, “The facts speak for themselves-under the UPA regime, PSUs were dismantled, while under the NDA, they are thriving. This success is due to the strong leadership of Prime Minister Modi.”