VISAKHAPATNAM: YSR Congress MPs staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on Monday during the debate on the Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Bill in protest against the provisions of the Bill and the Centre’s decision for 100 per cent strategic divestment of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL).

Earlier, speaking on the Bill in the upper house, Vijayasai Reddy said the YSRC was totally against the privatisation of the navaratna steel plant. “Instead of chalking out bail out plans for the revival of public sector units, the Centre is trying to wash off its hands by selling them,” he pointed out.

“The PSUs work with a social obligation to provide employment to lakhs of people whereas the private sector’s basic aim is profit making. It has been proposed in the bill to entrust auctioning of mines to the Centre if States failed to auction them within a time frame, which is against the federal spirit of the Constitution,” the YSRC MP argued.

He asked whether the same norm was applied to the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act. “Since the Centre failed to set up the railway zone within the time frame, will it entrust the task of setting up a railway zone to the state government?” he said.

“The Centre brought the Bill to usurp the rights of States. The mines should be allotted to private firms only after allotment to the PSUs. The Bill is providing more teeth to the Centre for the privatisation of public sector units, particularly the Vizag steel plant,” Vijasai said.

Steel plants importing coking coal, says Centre
Minister for Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi admitted that steel industries were facing a shortage of coking coal. Replying to a query by Vijayasai, the minister said many steel industries were importing coking coal. He said in the coking coal available in the country, there is 25 to 35 per cent ash against permissible 10 to 12 per cent. Hence the steel units were importing coking coal.