TDP will not allow privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, says Lokesh

TDP opposes VSP privatisation, alleges YSRCP misleading public; Lokesh clarifies on Tirupati laddu, floods, and investor concerns.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will not allow the privatisation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), IT Minister and the party’s national general secretary Nara Lokesh said here on Wednesday.

“TDP’s A.P. president Palla Srinivasa has stated that the privatisation of VSP will not be allowed, and he has said he would quit if he fails to do so,” Mr. Lokesh said.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the CII meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Lokesh alleged that YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders were trying to mislead the people on the issue by saying that the State government was supporting the privatisation of VSP.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had also clarified that privatisation of VSP would not be allowed, Mr. Lokesh pointed out.

On the controversy over the Tirupati laddu prasadam, he said that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has already been constituted, and added that it was conducting an impartial enquiry. On the demand by the YSRCP for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he recalled that all inquiries during the YSRCP regime were conducted by the A.P. Crime Investigation Department (AP-CID).

To another query, he said that negotiations were on with software majors, and they were keen on coming to Visakhapatnam. He, however, said that he would not be able to divulge further details as of now.

Speaking on the recent floods in Vijayawada, the Minister said the practice of reverse tendering undertaken by the YSRCP in the past led to breaches in the Budameru rivulet, which led to the calamity. He recalled that efforts made by Mr. Naidu during his previous stint as Chief Minister to invite the LuLu Group to set up a mall and convention centre on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam were brought to naught as a result of the reverse tendering process.