Police foil Andhra Congress chief Sharmila's hunger strike over Vizag steel plant job cuts

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Congress president Y S Sharmila’s indefinite hunger strike in support of dismissed Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) contract workers was foiled on Wednesday by police, hours after commencement, a party source said.

Sharmila protested demanding reinstatement of 2,000 contract workers.

"Police came and foiled Sharmila's hunger strike around 9 PM," a congress source told PTI on Thursday.

She reached the protest site at 1.30 pm on Wednesday and began fasting. By 9 PM and the police shifted her to Gajuwaka police station and later she returned to Hyderabad.

Tension prevailed as workers resisted the police action. Congress leaders and union members condemned Sharmila's arrest, calling it "inhumane" and "politically motivated" by the ruling NDA coalition.

Sharmila accused the BJP of starving VSP of raw materials and jobs, and misleading the public on Rs 11,000 crore support claims with harsh employment cuts.

She further accused the BJP of deliberately weakening the VSP through "silent-killing tactics" and pushing it towards privatisation.