VIJAYAWADA: The State BJP leaders have once again made contradictory statements about their stand on issues related to Andhra Pradesh. While BJP State chief Somu Veerraju said the AP unit will fight against the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), party MPs Suresh Prabhu and YS Chowdary spoke in favour of the Centre’s move, terming it a way of ‘rewarding’ the taxpayers.
Somu, in a press conference here, said the State unit was in agreement with the sentiments of people opposing the privatisation of steel plant. He, in fact, said he would take up the matter with BJP national president JP Nadda in a meeting in New Delhi on February 14. Vizag MLC PVN Madhav had already met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on Thursday and submitted a representation against the privatisation of the steel plan, he said.The State BJP chief recalled the massive agitation with the slogan ‘Visakha Ukku - Andhrula Hakku’ in the erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh for the Vizag steel plant.
Somu said, “It was one of the biggest agitations in the history of Andhra Pradesh. MP GVL Narasimha Rao and MLC PVN Madhav will be meeting the Union Minister for Steel. We will further apprise the national leadership of the prevailing sentiment of the people of the State in a meeting in New Delhi on February 14. The State unit is in favour of the public sentiment and will fight for the vizag steel plant.”
He, however, sought to clarify that it should be remembered that the privatisation proposal is a part of the Centre’s plan to divest all steel plants, and not just the VSP.
Hours after this, former Union ministers and Rajya Sabha MPs Suresh Prabhu and YS Chowdary, in a press meet in Hyderabad, backed the divestment move. “Public sector undertakings (PSUs) are nothing but where we put more public money. For that, we have to raise taxes. Shareholders of PSUs are citizens of India and the shares are held by the President on behalf of all the citizens. So the citizens, who paid taxes, should be benefitted. So, privatisation is a means of finding out how best we can reward the shareholders, i.e. the citizens of India, in terms of giving money back to them. It is not selling but ensuring that a shareholder of a PSU gets properly rewarded either through dividend or through sale of shares,” Suresh Prabhu said.
Sujana Chowdary, on the other hand, said the privatisation would not stop just because the TDP or the YSRC are opposing it. “Divestment is happening since 1991 and this is part of a master policy to put resources to better use. It won’t stop just because the YSRC or the TDP oppose it. Selling doesn’t mean the steel plant will be moved somewhere. The industry will be there and the employment it generates will also be in Vizag itself. In the past, the government had established it because it was hard to get private investments. Now, with changes in economy and technology, this is inevitable,” he added.