Palla calls VSP privatisation charges by Opposition ‘false propaganda'
Addressing the media in Vijayawada on Tuesday, Mr. Srinivasa Rao reiterated that the NDA government in the State was committed to protecting the VSP and ensuring its continuation as a public sector unit (PSU).
'The YSRCP, Congress, Left parties and trade unions are spreading false propaganda that the VSP would be privatised. Some harsh decisions are inevitable for the continuation of the VSP as a PSU, and this includes the privatisation of some sections of the plant to improve productivity and reduce costs,' Mr. Srinivasa Rao said.
He said the bids called for Expression of Interest (EOI) recently was a 'step in that direction'. 'Some sections of the VSP would be given to good companies to improve efficiency. This has been happening for a long. There is nothing new in it,' the TDP leader said.
He recalled that then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and MP Yerran Naidu convinced then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and prevented the VSP from going into the red by securing funds for it in 1998.
Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat and Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu had helped secure Central funds of ₹1,440 crore for the VSP this year to ensure steady supply of raw material. The third Blast Furnace was made operational after years and the VSP has achieved its highest production recently.
'The YSRCP, which had done nothing for the VSP during its tenure, is spreading false propaganda to mislead the plant workers and the people. Some trade union leaders had cheated the workers during the last five years and were responsible for the recruitment of a large number of 'ghost workers' on a contract basis by taking ₹3 lakh to ₹8 lakh from people. A probe will be ordered into the issue,' Mr. Srinivasa Rao said.
Pointing out that the monthly salary bill of the VSP employees and officers stands at ₹240 crore, he said, 'If two Blast Furnaces operate to full capacity, the plant can just achieve a breakeven. The third Blast Furnace, which had not been working for the past several years, was made functional after the NDA government came to power in the State.'
'Our goal is the continuation of the VSP as the public sector unit. It should run to its full capacity and to do justice to the 8,000 displaced persons,' Mr. Srinivasa Rao added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
4 minutes ago
- Economic Times
NDA to launch joint organisational drive in Bihar to boost coordination
Synopsis As Rahul Gandhi leads the opposition's campaign in Bihar, the NDA is set to launch a joint organizational drive from October 23 to strengthen coordination among its constituents. The BJP and JD(U) will each head seven of the 14 committees formed to oversee workers' meetings across the state in two phases. ANI Giriraj Singh addresses the media Amid the opposition's campaign in Bihar led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the ruling National Democratic Alliance is set to launch a joint organisational drive from October 23 to boost coordination among its constituents and synergise its push to retain power in the Bihar going to polls in October-November, the NDA has formed 14 committees and its two principal members, the BJP and the JD(U), will each head seven of with organising workers' meetings at different places across the state, the alliance leaders of these groups will oversee programmes in two phases, first from August 23 to August 25, and then from August 28 to August members of these committee, sources said, include names from three other NDA parties -- Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok leaders heading the committees are deputy chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, its state president Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Nityanad Rai, state minister Mangal Pandey, and Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal. The seven JD(U) leaders in charge of the committees include the party's national working president Sanjay Jha, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, its state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and state ministers Vijay Chaudhary, Shrawon Kumar, Ashok Choudhary and Ratnesh the 14 committees, the sources added, will have seven members each, including MPs and state ministers, as the alliance looks to rally workers from its different constituents in its bid to repulse the challenge from the RJD-Congress-Left workers' meetings will be held at 83 locations to cover the entire stretch of Bihar, which has 243 Assembly seats, through six joint meetings of the alliance workers come amid the ongoing public campaign by Rahul Gandhi against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state by the Election Commission, with the Congress MP and his Bihar allies accusing the poll watchdog of "vote chori" in collusion with the collective meetings will also help unite workers of different parties for a common purpose and build an overarching narrative, something that was missing to some extent in the 2020 polls when the Lok Janshakti Party headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan walked away and inflicted serious damage on the JD(U)'s single-minded attack on the party headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had strained its ties with the BJP, leading the JD(U) leader to sever ties with the saffron party in August 2022 before he returned to the NDA in January 2024. NDA leaders said they will launch a big people outreach programme following these meetings, expressing confidence that the perception created by the opposition that the SIR is aimed at denying voting rights to the electorate will not cut much ice once the electoral rolls are finalised.
Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
NDA pick for Vice-Presidential election Radhakrishnan files nomination
NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the vice presidential election in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders. Modi, flanked by Radhakrishnan and senior NDA leaders, handed over four sets of nomination papers to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the returning officer for the vice presidential election. The four sets of nomination papers have Modi, Singh, Shah and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh as lead proposers. A prospective vice-presidential candidate is required to get his nomination paper subscribed to by at least 20 electors as proposers and at least another 20 electors as seconders. The NDA has ensured representation of all its constituents as proposers and seconders in the four sets of nomination papers that were filed. The returning officer examined the nomination papers following which Radhakrishnan signed a register. The returning officer then handed over an acknowledgement slip of the nomination papers to the prime minister. Modi, Shah, senior ministers Pralhad Joshi, Dharmendra Pradhan and other NDA leaders, including TDP leader and Union Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde, LJSP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan escorted Radhakrishnan to the office of the returning officer in Parliament. Earlier, Radhakrishan paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and other national leaders at Prerna Sthal, which houses statues of iconic personalities, in Parliament complex. Radhakrishnan, whose election as vice president is a certainty, was accompanied by Union ministers and other leaders from the BJP-led alliance. The electoral college for the vice presidential elections comprises members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to cast their votes. The effective strength of the electoral college is 781 and the majority mark is 391. The ruling NDA enjoys the support of at least 422 members and non-INDIA bloc parties such as YSRCP have already announced support to Radhakrishnan. Described as a 'Pachai Tamizhan' (true-blue Tamil) by well wishers, Maharashtra Governor Radhakrishnan (67) is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader who served as a two-term member of the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later, went on to lead the party in Tamil Nadu. The NDA is projecting Radhakrishnan as an untainted leader with rich political and administrative experience for the vice-president's office and maintaining that this would also prove useful as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Radhakrishnan was the chairman of the All India Coir Board from 2016 to 2020, a period when coir exports witnessed a significant jump. BJP president J P Nadda described Radhakrishnan as a 'statesman' who commands respect across party lines. He belongs to the influential Gounder caste, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) community in Tamil Nadu.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
NDA to launch joint organisational drive in Bihar to boost coordination
Amid the opposition's campaign in Bihar led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the ruling National Democratic Alliance is set to launch a joint organisational drive from October 23 to boost coordination among its constituents and synergise its push to retain power in the state. With Bihar going to polls in October-November, the NDA has formed 14 committees and its two principal members, the BJP and the JD(U), will each head seven of them. Tasked with organising workers' meetings at different places across the state, the alliance leaders of these groups will oversee programmes in two phases, first from August 23 to August 25, and then from August 28 to August 30. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 20 Things Women Should NEVER Wear! Undo The members of these committee, sources said, include names from three other NDA parties -- Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha. BJP leaders heading the committees are deputy chief ministers Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, its state president Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Nityanad Rai, state minister Mangal Pandey, and Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal. Live Events The seven JD(U) leaders in charge of the committees include the party's national working president Sanjay Jha, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, its state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and state ministers Vijay Chaudhary, Shrawon Kumar, Ashok Choudhary and Ratnesh Sada. All the 14 committees, the sources added, will have seven members each, including MPs and state ministers, as the alliance looks to rally workers from its different constituents in its bid to repulse the challenge from the RJD-Congress-Left alliance. The workers' meetings will be held at 83 locations to cover the entire stretch of Bihar, which has 243 Assembly seats, through six days. The joint meetings of the alliance workers come amid the ongoing public campaign by Rahul Gandhi against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state by the Election Commission, with the Congress MP and his Bihar allies accusing the poll watchdog of "vote chori" in collusion with the BJP. The collective meetings will also help unite workers of different parties for a common purpose and build an overarching narrative, something that was missing to some extent in the 2020 polls when the Lok Janshakti Party headed by Union minister Chirag Paswan walked away and inflicted serious damage on the JD(U)'s prospects. Paswan's single-minded attack on the party headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had strained its ties with the BJP, leading the JD(U) leader to sever ties with the saffron party in August 2022 before he returned to the NDA in January 2024. NDA leaders said they will launch a big people outreach programme following these meetings, expressing confidence that the perception created by the opposition that the SIR is aimed at denying voting rights to the electorate will not cut much ice once the electoral rolls are finalised.
