Published Jun 09, 2026 | 5:30 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 09, 2026 | 5:30 PM
Minister Lokesh meets families of VSP victims. (Screengrab)
Synopsis: The minister was seen agitated, and questioning the union representatives, if someone from their family died. “Will you let me speak or not? No one from your family died, I am speaking with the people who lost their family members. I am sorry, should I meet the families or not? Then why are you creating an issue?,” Lokesh asked. Further referring to the issues raised by the representatives, Lokesh said, “Is this something to be spoken here? If you have come to create an issue and fight, I fold my hands.”
On Tuesday, 9 June, a tense exchange broke out between Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh and the Left party leaders and trade union representatives, when the former visited King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam to meet the families of the eight workers killed in the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant accident on Monday, 8 June.
The situation escalated when the trade union leaders confronted the Minister when he was speaking with the affected families.
The minister was seen agitated, and questioning the union representatives, if someone from their family died.
“Will you let me speak or not? No one from your family died, I am speaking with the people who lost their family members. I am sorry, should I meet the families or not? Then why are you creating an issue?,” Lokesh asked. Further referring to the issues raised by the representatives, Lokesh said, “Is this something to be spoken here? If you have come to create an issue and fight, I fold my hands.”
Minister Nara Lokesh was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, State Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Minister Sandhya Rani, MP Sri Bharat, TDP State President Palla Srinivasa Rao, and Chintakayala Vijay.
Also Read: Eight workers killed as molten steel ladle collapses in Vizag Steel Plant
Defending the government, the Minister said, “The incident occurred at 4:10 PM, in an hour the SP and Collector were there, in an hour more, the Home Minister was there. We are here to stand by the people, NDA from centre and state have come, Deputy CM also is coming. I have come to meet the families, I have not come to meet the trade union leaders.”
Speaking to the media after visiting the victims, Lokesh said, “NDA government acted responsibly and responded swiftly following the accident.”
Minister Lokesh further said the government had not come merely to hand over compensation cheques but had taken steps to stand by the affected families permanently. He announced that, following the directions of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, one eligible member from each victim’s family would be provided a permanent job, a commitment he described as unprecedented.
He remarked that YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, whom he referred to as the “Team 11 captain,” did not visit the site after the incident, whereas the NDA government immediately stepped in to support the affected families.
VIDEO | Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh on Tuesday visited the injured workers of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant blast and met the families of those who lost their lives, assuring them of comprehensive support from the NDA government.
Minister Lokesh said the government had… pic.twitter.com/t6bVKk2ER5
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 9, 2026
Minister Lokesh also stated that the Steel Plant was saved because everyone fought together, and clarifies that appropriate action will be taken following the committee’s report on the accident.
According to an NDTV report, CPM State Secretary Srinivasa Rao asked, “Previous governments announced ₹1 crore compensation in major industrial accidents. Why only ₹25 lakh now?”
Earlier, HD Kumaraswamy had announced that, “RINL has announced ex ex-gratia compensation of ₹25 lakh in addition to admissible terminal benefits and employment for one eligible family member of each deceased worker. Severely injured persons will receive ₹10 lakh each, while the entire cost of treatment will be borne by RINL.”
The CPM leader alleged that workers, engineers and unions had repeatedly warned management about worn out machinery, shortage of skilled manpower and poor-quality raw materials. “This is not a casual accident. Workers and engineers repeatedly stated that the machinery needed upgrading and skilled workers were being reduced. Those warnings were ignored,” he said.
The accident occurred at approximately 4.15 pm on Monday during operations at Caster-2 of Steel Melt Shop-1. Before the slide gate could be opened to pour hot crude steel from the ladle to the tundish, a sudden and severe explosion took place,
According to preliminary reports, a ladle carrying molten steel boiling at approximately 1,500 degrees Celsius, collapsed during a lifting operation, causing the superheated metal to spill onto workers, resulting in a massive fireball and subsequent fire in an overhead crane. Eight people succumbed to their injuries, while six others are undergoing treatment.
RINL has initiated an internal investigation into the incident. In addition, a three-member independent enquiry committee headed by the Director-in-Charge of Bokaro Steel Plant, SAIL, has been constituted to determine the cause of the accident and recommend corrective measures.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Sumit Jha)
