Hundreds of workers took part in protests across Visakhapatnam on Monday, March 28, as part of the two-day nation-wide strike called by trade unions opposing the Union government’s move to privatise public sector undertakings, with the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant being the epicentre of the stir. The protestors also gave a call for Vizag bandh on Monday, which drew a moderate response.
Workers, under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee, staged a demonstration outside the main gate of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, raising slogans against the Union government’s bid to go ahead with the strategic disinvestment of the steel plant. They decried the statements made by Union Ministers in Parliament on the steel plant issue and said they were grossly misleading.
They vowed to thwart the Union government’s plans by all means and said their fight would continue till the end. Trade unions AITUC, CITU and others staged a rasta-roko at Maddilapalem junction in Visakhapatnam, blocking traffic on the NH-16. Police took the protesting trade unionists into custody and cleared the traffic.
YSRCP workers also lent their support to the call for bandh. Gajuwaka MLA from YSRCP Tippala Nagireddy, who was present at the protest, said that YSRCP has been consistently supporting the steel plant agitation.
The decision to call for a bandh on March 28 was taken at a meeting of the struggle committee against privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant comprising various trade unions earlier on March 17, on the occasion of completing 400 days of relay fasts demanding protection of the steel plant.
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) on January 27 gave "in principle" approval for 100% disinvestment of government stake in RINL along with RINL's stake in its subsidiaries/joint ventures. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), which manages the government's equity in public sector companies, on March 11 floated the request for proposal (RFP) for appointing an asset value registered with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to carry out the valuation of the company's assets and assist the Union government in the process of strategic disinvestment of RINL.
With PTI and IANS inputs