VIJAYAWADA: A day after three MPs from Andhra Pradesh were inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet, as expected, three-time Srikakulam MP Kinjarapu Ram Mohan was allotted the Union Civil Aviation portfolio, while first-time Guntur MP Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar was appointed as Minister of State (MoS) for Rural Development and Communication.
Both the MPs represent the Telugu Desam Party, which won a total of 16 Lok Sabha seats.
The decision to allocate the portfolios of MoS Heavy Industries and Steel to BJP Narasapuram MP Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma came as a surprise. This development is significant as it appears that the Central government would not be pushing to disinvest its stake in the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP).
Ahead of the elections, the Centre had said that it is not pushing hard to disinvest its stake in the Plant and has alternate plans.
It may be pointed out that besides Opposition parties and employee unions, the State BJP, too, opposed the move to privatise VSP and had conveyed the same to the national leadership.
The BJP State leadership had advised the Centre to take alternative measures to revive and protect the VSP rather than going ahead with the disinvestment plan.
Now, the saffron party has allocated the portfolio to its own MP in an apparent bid to initiate steps for reviving the Plant, which is an emotive issue for the people of North Coastal Andhra.
JD(S) MP HD Kumaraswamy has been appointed as the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel.