The BRS political party is making a concerted effort to gain a foothold in Andhra Pradesh. As part of their campaign, they have taken up the hot issue of the Visakha steel plant. Recently, Telangana Minister KTR wrote a letter to the Center demanding that the plant should not be privatized under any circumstances.
He criticized the fact that the plant, which is valued at three lakh crore rupees, is being tied up to the private sector as a loan. He demanded that the Center provide five thousand crores to support the steel plant and questioned the process of tenders being issued to invite help from the private sector for the needs of the steel plant.
The KCR government has reportedly taken a step further and media reports say that Telangana will bid in the tenders announced by the Centre if they decide to sell the Visakha Steel Plant.
When asked whether the AP government can also participate in the tender, Minister Gudivada Amarnath logically responded that their government has only one stand to not sell the steel plant. He said that they will completely oppose any decision taken by the Center towards the private sector.
However, he questioned whether BRS has officially announced that they will participate in the bid for the steel plant and criticized their dual policies regarding the steel plant saying those who are opposing its sale are now trying to buy it. In any case, if the Center takes steps towards privatization, it should be noted that the YCP's stand not to sell the plant may benefit them.
