The Centre stated on Friday that the disinvestment process of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, is ongoing in yet another U-turn.
The Ministry of Steel announced on Friday that the RINL disinvestment process has not been suspended, a day after Union Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste stated in Visakhapatnam that the Centre will not proceed with the privatisation.
The Steel Ministry provided clarification about various media claims putting a hold on the RINL disinvestment process, stating that the process is ongoing and that both the firm and the government are working to improve RINL’s performance and keep it as a going concern.
Kulaste had stated in Visakhapatnam on Thursday that the Vizag Steel Plant (VSP) will not be privatised but rather strengthened by the Centre.Employees of VSP took to the streets on Friday to protest the fresh U-turn. They burned the effigy of the Central government while seated on a dharna on the national highway close to the Kurmannapalem intersection.
The protesters resisted police attempts to detain them. Mild stress resulted from this. The VSP employees have hinted that they will escalate their protest.The staff urged that the Centre withdraw its disinvestment plan after more than two years of protests.Employees claimed that Andhra Pradesh’s citizens made numerous sacrifices for the plant and that they will not permit its sale.