YCP Not Committed To Save Vizag Steel Plant: Pawan

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan demanded that the ruling YCP should call for an all-party meeting to save the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant from privatization. Within the next one week, the YCP should announce an action plan for the same, he said.

He said that all the political parties should get together for the cause. “I am politically weak as my party neither has an MLA nor an MP and so cannot speak in the legislative houses. Union Home minister Amit Shah lent a patient ear to me when I and our party leader Nadendla Manohar went to Delhi within a week of the Centre announcing plan of privatization only because the public is with me,” he said.

We told Amit Shah that VSP is not like any other industry but that it is connected with the emotions of Andhra people because of the sacrifice of 32 youth and agitations associated with the plant, he reminded.

Expressing solidarity with the protesting VSP employees and the families of evacuees of nearly 64 villages who parted with the land for the steel plant, he said that he would always stand by them but could do little without the support of the public and the political parties.

Pawan said that it was true that the VSP was running in losses. Every industry and factory will have losses and debts, except the YCP political industry, he said, criticizing the ruling party.

He slammed the ruling YCP for lacking commitment to save the VSP. “The YCP has a huge mandate and there are 22 MPs for the party. Can’t they ask for allocation of captive mines to the plant? Do MPs go to the Parliament to drink coffee and chat with their colleagues?”

They are interested only in contracts, political positions and money but not in people’s problems and representing them in the Parliament.

At the same time, he criticized the Andhra people for lacking unity among themselves. They are divided by caste and community basis and would never fight together for a cause, he lamented.

In 2017, the Centre announced plan to privatize Dredging Corporation of Inda (DCIL). Then we did not go to the Centre but exerted pressure on the state government which did the needful and the process was stalled.

VSP should have the support of the state government and captive mines to come out of the crisis, he said, adding that Tata Steel and SAIL companies have surplus mines that they sell the raw material to others.

Pawan said that before going to the Centre, authorities in the state should be made accountable. How will the people sitting at the Centre know about the problems when the MPs do not raise the issues, he asked.

He criticized the MPs of not knowing about the people’s problems as they rarely come to them. But, I will stand by the people even though I lost the election, he said.

“Saving the VSP is equal to saving the self-respect of Andhra people (Andhrula Atma Gouravam). Andhra people do not have respect towards their land but the Telangana people love their land and it is because of their love and self-respect that the Telangana movement had been a success,” he pointed out.

The thought of disinvestment of loss-making industries started in 1992, he said and asked the youth to know about the history of VSP by reading, speaking to the stakeholders and evacuee families.

Visakha Ukku was achieved with the sacrifices of 32 youth and so it a right but not something thrown as an alm, he said.

He credited the trade unions for keeping the VSP intact. Without their protests, it would have been sold off just like the Circuit House in Vizag by the YCP, he said.

Pawan criticized the YCP for adopting double standards with regard to many issue like the farm bills, Kashmir Bill.

He rubbished the claims of YCP MPs that the Centre does not listen to them. “When it is not supporting you, why do you support the bills introduced by the NDA in the Parliament,” he asked.

Pawan said that many people call him an “idealistic fool”. I would like to lose being an idealistic fool but not win being a corrupt politician, he said.

The actor-turned-politician said he was ready to fight for the people but that the people should be with him. “I got ready to fight for the special category status but when I really got into the field, there was nobody to support me,” he admitted.

He criticized the YCP for not doing nothing having major impact on the Centre with regard to saving the VSP from privatization except giving letters and memoranda. He said that the YCP means completely opposite of what it speaks.

“The YCP spoke of ban on liquor and now, it is selling liquor as per its wish. Similarly, they said education would be given utmost importance but now, they want to snatch away the assets of all the aided colleges and make money out of it. They spoke of job calendar but left the youth jobless.”

It has to be seen how the YCP would react to the demands and criticism of the Jana Sena chief.