The Jana Sena Party has urged Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to utilise the Southern Zonal Council (SZC) meeting as a platform to effectively present the case of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. The SZC meeting is scheduled for Sunday at Tirupati which, will be chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
In a statement on Saturday, JSP’s Political Affairs Committee chairman Nadendla Manohar said through Sunday’s meeting, the Chief Minister should convey to the Centre the strong sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh associated with the steel plant project by explaining in detail how it was achieved with the slogan of “Visakha Ukku, Andhrula Hakku” (Visakha steel is Andhra people’s right), and also talk about the 32 persons who had laid down their lives to realise the dream of a steel plant.
Mr. Manohar said to stop the proposed privatisation, the Chief Minister should follow the policy adopted by the Tamil Nadu government in the past to stop privatisation of the Salem steel plant. The Tamil Nadu government had discussed the issue with all parties in that State, and Mr. Jagan should also do the same to save the project, he advised.
