Deccan Chronicle on 10th July reported that its office in Visakhapatnam had been attacked by activists of Telugu Desam, the ruling party in the coastal state. The incident follows publication of a report headlined “Alliance takes U-turn on VSP privatization” the previous day.
The newspaper said the activists stormed its office, vandalised furniture, and had a heated argument with the staff present there. They also reportedly climbed the compound wall of the office and damaged the name board and set fire to a flexi banner hung on the premises.
The report in question was based on statements made by Union minister of state for heavy industry, Srinivas Varma, at an event in West Godavari district. He was reported to have said that Vizag steel plant had been incurring huge losses and that the Union government would not allow wastage of public money.
When a company is making losses year after year, the government would go for privatisation, Varma reportedly said. This statement goes against the public stance of Telugu Desam, which is that it would not agree to privatisation of the steel factory.
The activists reportedly insisted that there was no truth in the report published by the newspaper and that the state government would continue its fight against the privatisation of Vizag steel plant.
The paper’s staff maintained that their report was factual and condemned the attack. They said that the party’s huge majority in the Assembly was not a licence for violence.