A signature campaign was organised by the All Trade Unions, People’s Organisations, Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee at the bus shelter near the Gandhi Statue Junction, near GVMC, on Monday.
Centurion University Vice-Chancellor G.S.N. Raju, who launched the campaign by signing on the huge banner, put up to oppose the privatisation on Visakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP). He said that PSUs were established on lands sacrificed by farmers and with the taxes paid by the people. They were strengthened by the contribution of employees. It was wrong on the part of the Centre to privatise VSP, he said and demanded immediate reversal of its decision.
Political analyst Telakapalli Ravi formally launched the fourth day of the relay hunger strikes being organised by the committee. ‘Atma Nirbhar’ does not mean selling away PSUs to private entities. He commended the people for their united struggle against privatisation of VSP.
IFTU State president P. Prasad said that the target for privatisation of PSUs, when the New Economic Policies, were launched in 1991, was to complete privatisation within 10 years. It was prolonged to 30 years due to the relentless struggles and strikes by the working class.
AITUC leaders SM Moulali, INTUC leader K. Eswara Rao, Porata Committee chairman M. Jaggu Naidu, vice chairman Padala Ramana, leaders Ganesh Panda, K. Rammurthi, M. Venkateswarlu, RKSV Kumar, B. Jagan, B. Venkata Rao, SK Rahaman and USN Raju were among those who participated.
