Demanding the Centre not to privatise RINL, the corporate identity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh, BRS working president and Minister K T Rama Rao on Sunday wrote an open letter to the Union government requesting it to release Rs 5,000 crore to the steel maker.

KTR said the BRS party vehemently opposes the Centre's move to disinvest it and the party would extend solidarity to the employees’ unions who are opposing the disinvestment move.

"The Central government should allocate Rs 5,000 crore to the Vizag Steel Plant as required. There were instances of direct allocation of fund to the plant during the regimes of former Prime Ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Centre can allot Rs 5,000 core as requested by the Vizag Steel Plant and take necessary equity from the company," Rao suggested in the letter.

Ever since the NDA government was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s agenda is to sell off public sector institutions, he alleged.

He further claimed that the Centre conspires to sell off the steel plant worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore to private players.

According to him, the Union government has done an injustice to the VSP by not allotting iron ore mines thus forcing the steel maker spend over 60 per cent on the raw material.

Rao further said that the Vizag Steel Plant is the right of the Telugu people and it is necessary for all the people to come together to protect it.

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