RINL disinvestment on hold?

If he (GVL Narasimha Rao) is serious, let the Central govt make a categoric announcement that they have withdrawn the Cabinet’s decision to privatise RINL, its joint ventures and subsidiaries as per the decision taken on January 27, 2021 - D Adinarayana, national vice-president, AITUC

Visakhapatnam: The trade unions of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant have ridiculed the announcement of BJP Rajya Sabha member and national spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao on the decision to keep it on hold the disinvestment of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).

The MP at a press conference held here on Tuesday evening said the government decided to ‘pause’ the decision following representations from various quarters not to privatise the public sector entity due to sentiments attached to it. RINL is the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant with a capacity of 7.3 million tonnes per annum. RINL was made a separate PSU by delinking it from SAIL in 1982.

The steel plant was set up after ‘Visakha Ukku Andhrula Hakku’ agitation, which claimed 32 lives. While the BJP and Jana Sena leaders welcomed the development, the Left affiliated trade union leaders said if the decision is true, it will certainly usher in good luck to all those who are relentlessly fighting to retain RINL in the public sector and find out alternative methods to achieve a turnaround.

“We have successfully stalled the visit of transaction advisors for conducting due diligence study. Later we also stopped issuance of expression of interest,” Ch Narasinga Rao, State president of CITU, told Bizz Buzz on Wednesday.

He said ‘as part of a sabotage strategy,’ the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre with the tacit understanding of the YSRCP has been weakening the financial health of RINL. They also reduced the production to 40 per cent by creating a raw material crisis, he alleged and found the motive behind NMDC decision to stop supply of iron ore from its mines in Chhattisgarh.

Adinarayana said Union Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste himself had no courage to visit VSP on Tuesday as he cancelled his trip after a threat given by the unions for a protest demanding retention of RINL in the public sector and restoration of normal iron ore supply from NMDC mines in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh instead of insisting of sourcing it from Karnataka mines..

VSP’s recognised union leader and AITUC national vice-president D Adinarayana said GVL’s statement appeared to be a drama on the eve of elections. “If he is serious, let the Central government make a categoric announcement that they have withdrawn the Cabinet’s decision to privatise RINL, its joint ventures and subsidiaries as per the decision taken on January 27, 2021,” he said.

The union leaders also alleged that there is an attempt for ‘divide and rule’ as the Centre is trying to keep the executives in good humour by offering them promotions while ignoring the demand of the employees to revise wages due with effect from January 1, 2017.