VIJAYAWADA: On a day when the TDP announced to take out state-wide protests against the Centre’s move to privatise Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, the ruling YSRC said the process of privatisation of the plant was initiated when the TDP was in power and alleged that N Chandrababu Naidu, in his capacity as chief minister, did nothing to stop it.
Speaking to the media on Monday, YSRC general secretary Lella Appireddy asked the TDP, which is blaming the State government for the proposal to privatise the plant, as to how the State government can sell the plant when it is under the purview of the Centre. He alleged that Naidu went to South Korea and entered into a secret pact with the POSCO to sell the plant to the company. Questioning the rationale behind undertaking protests by the Opposition party, Appireddy said the former chief minister had not even written a letter to the Centre on the issue so far.
With regard to the panchayat elections, Appireddy flayed the TDP for distorting the results and accused Naidu of changing his stance to cover up the TDP’s poll debacle. “People have lost faith in the TDP and the poll results are an example to it,’’ he said.He said Naidu, who backed SEC Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar until elections, has now changed his stance and is going against the SEC by alleging irregularities in the ballot form, though it was demanded by the TDP chief.