TDP opposes privatisation of VSP

Telugu Desam party president N Chandrababu Naidu demanded that the State Government allot captive iron ore mines to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant instead of Brahmani Steels.

Talking to reporters here on Monday, Naidu said that since Brahmani Steels has been promoted by mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy, who has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with illegal iron ore mining case against the Obulapuram Mining Corporation, the VSP should allotted the captive iron ore mines. He also announced that the TDP would oppose the Centre’s move to privatize the VSP by selling stake to raise funds under disinvestment proposal.

Naidu, who launched his Rythu Poru Bata in Vizianagaram district on Monday, said that the inefficiency of the State Government has been exposed due to its failure to address the problems being faced by farmers in the state. He slammed the Centre and State Governments for their failure to resolve farmers’ issues and fix remunerative price for paddy, cotton and sugarcane.

Stating that the financial position of farmers has become pathetic, the TDP chief said the government should make efforts to bail them out from the crisis and help them on all fronts. He said that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy should visit all drought-affected areas to collect the first hand information from the farmers over their woes.

Naidu said that the farmers are forced to sell their produce as there were no godowns to store the produce.