Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) accused the NDA government of failing to protect the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) from privatisation and of neglecting the welfare of its employees.

Mr. Jagan visited Visakhapatnam to console the families of the workers injured in the recent blast at the VSP and met those undergoing treatment at MGM Seven Hills Hospital.v

Addressing a press conference later, he said the VSP had around 28,000 employees when the YSRCP government left office in 2024. He alleged that nearly 10,500 employees had been removed over the past two years under various pretexts, bringing the workforce down to around 16,000.

He alleged that the salaries of VSP employees had been pending for nearly four and a half months, and that for the first time in the country, employees’ salaries had been linked to production levels. He also alleged that the electricity tariff in the steel plant’s residential quarters had risen sharply, from 50 paise a unit under the YSRCP government to ₹8.50 a unit now, which he called an attempt to force employees to vacate the quarters.

The YSRCP president said employees had not received any benefits, including bonuses, house rent allowance (HRA), medical facilities, leave encashment and incentives, for the past two years.

Referring to the ₹11,400-crore financial package announced for the steel plant, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that the funds were not used for maintenance, safety improvements, operational efficiency or employee welfare. Instead, the package went towards voluntary retirement schemes (VRS), GST dues and repayment of bank loans, he alleged.

He urged VSP employees to compare their present situation with the YSRCP years and decide under which government they had received better support.

Restating his party’s stand against the privatisation of the steel plant, he said the YSRCP government had taken several steps to oppose the Centre’s move. Letters were sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 6 and March 9, 2021, urging the Centre not to privatise the plant, and the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed a resolution in May 2021 opposing privatisation and forwarded it to the Central government, he said.

“We not only stalled the privatisation process but also stood firmly with the steel plant employees at all times,” Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said. During the Prime Minister’s visit to Visakhapatnam on November 12, 2022, the YSRCP had once again appealed against the privatisation of the plant, he added.

‘₹1 crore compensation’

On the recent blast at the VSP, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that the response of the State and Central governments to the victims was “inhumane”.

Referring to the NDA leaders’ announcement that each affected family would receive benefits worth ₹1.72 crore, he alleged that most of the amount comprised the employee’s own retirement benefits.

“Out of the ₹1.72 crore being cited, nearly ₹1.45 crore comes from the worker’s retirement benefits. The union government is providing ₹25 lakh, while ₹2 lakh is coming from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The State government is not contributing a single rupee,” he alleged.

Comparing it with the 2020 LG Polymers gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam, he said the YSRCP government had acted swiftly and ensured ₹1 crore compensation to the family of each deceased victim. He demanded that the present government similarly announce an ex-gratia of ₹1 crore to the families of those who died in the VSP blast.