By Surya Kumar
Visakhapatnam: The announcement by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to submit a bid for working capital support and raw material supply in exchange for finished steel produced by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is snowballing into a major controversy with YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders questioning the intentions of Telangana Government.
While BJP AP General Secretary P.V.N. Madhav said BRS Government in Telangana is in a debt trap after borrowing loans worth over Rs 5 lakh crore, AP Government Advisor and YSRCP general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and AP Minister for Industries Gudivada Amarnath accused the BRS of indulging in political mileage to foray into politics of AP. Amarnath said as per rules Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), in which Telangana has a 51% stake, is not eligible to submit bids as the Government of India’s rules does not permit it.
Presently, three directors of SCCL visited Vizag Steel Plant on Tuesday and are holding talks with the management and union leaders to explore various options. Telangana Government will give a counter-guarantee to help SCCL to get funds from financial institutions. RINL will be needing working capital support of Rs.5,000 crore. It cannot operate three blast furnaces, forcing it to curtail its installed capacity of 7.3 million tonnes.
Interestingly, BRS AP chapter president Thota Chandrasekhar called on the VSP trade union leaders and declared that his party will fully support them to prevent privatisation of RINL. The Government of India cleared in 2021 the proposal for strategic disinvestment of RINL, which has India’s first shore-based integrated steel plant in Visakhapatnam.
The Joint Action Committee of VSP trade unions wholeheartedly hailed the proposal of BRS and supported the announcement of Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao to save RINL from privatisation. JAC co-chairman and CITU president Ch. Narsinga Rao told Siasat.com that YSRCP had failed to bring pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retain RINL in the public sector.
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