CPI(M) criticises Chief Minister Naidu over remarks against Visakhapatnam Steel Plant workers

The CPI(M) Andhra Pradesh State Committee on Sunday strongly condemned Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for what it described as “threatening and intimidating” Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) workers by invoking the PD Act.

In a statement, State Secretary V. Srinivasa Rao said it was “highly inappropriate” for the Chief Minister to spread misinformation and mislead the public with “half-truths and falsehoods.”

Referring to a recent circular issued by the VSP management that links workers’ wages to production levels, Mr. Rao said the move would only deepen uncertainty among the workforce. He asserted that the VSP’s financial losses were the result of government policies, the lack of captive mines, and administrative failures—factors unrelated to worker performance. “Shifting the blame onto workers for problems arising from governance failures is unacceptable,” he said.

The CPI(M) leader also criticised Mr. Naidu for offering huge incentives to industrialists while threatening that hardworking labourers “could be jailed under the PD Act.” This, he said, clearly revealed “whose side the government is on.”

Rejecting the Chief Minister’s claim that the VSP had gone to the BIFR, Mr. Rao said the statement was factually incorrect and intended to mislead the public with outdated information. He also reiterated that, unlike other steel plants across the country allotted captive mines, the VSP has been consistently denied the same facility.

Asserting that workers’ movements demanding wages, job security, or other legal rights are protected under the Constitution, he said the Chief Minister’s threat to invoke the PD Act against them was “reprehensible.” “Instead of acknowledging these realities,” he added, “the government is unfairly targeting workers with baseless accusations.”