VIJAYAWADA: APCC chief YS Sharmila Reddy accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of systematically undermining Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), established by the Congress government, which was once a profit-making entity.
Sharmila, who staged a hunger strike at VSP in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, alleged that the BJP was employing a ‘silent killing’ strategy to weaken the steel plant, likening it to the proverb of driving a dog mad to justify its killing.
She claimed that the government was deliberately starving the plant of raw materials, raising export prices to burden it, and denying it a dedicated iron ore mine, despite Congress’ earlier plans to provide one.
The APCC chief denounced the government’s claim of rescuing the plant with Rs 11,000 crore as a falsehood, alleging that Rs 8,000 crore was reclaimed as bank loans, and the remaining Rs 3,000 crore was tied to a condition to lay off 5,000 workers. Already, 2,000 workers have been sacked, with plans to remove 3,000 more, reducing the workforce from 34,000 to half, she charged.