Visakhapatnam (The Hawk): In anticipation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city, police in Visakhapatnam detained leaders and members of the Left parties as well as the Visakhapatnam Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) on Saturday.
The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) privatisation movement is being led by the VUPCC, which has called for demonstrations during the Prime Minister's visit.
Modi arrived in the port city on Friday evening to lay the cornerstone for or officially launch a number of development projects.
To demand that the Center abandon its plan to privatise the plant, the VUPCC has planned for three days of protests.
As part of this, a variety of events, including a meeting at the plant's gate, have been planned for this coming Saturday.
When VUPCC officials, members, and VSP employees organised a sit-in against the privatisation of the plant on Friday, the police made several arrests.
The organisation has asked workers to participate in the sit-in and called for a widespread boycott of the workplace.
Some workers took part in the demonstration with their families. They requested that Prime Minister Modi declare the cancellation of the plan to privatise the facility while carrying placards.
They said that hundreds of workers and their families will suffer a setback as a result of the privatisation.
About 50 demonstrators were detained by the police, including VUPCC and Left party leaders.
Narasinga Rao, the chairman of the VUPCC, criticised the YSR Congress Party government for the arrests and questioned its course of action as the latter had earlier said it supported the anti-privatization movement.
(Inputs from Agencies)