Chandigarh Congress has expressed its complete solidarity and full support to the three day strike call given by Chandigarh Power men beginning from tomorrow as it stands solidly behind the Employees of UT Electricity in their fight against crony capitalism and sale of vital Public Sector Undertakings.
Subhash Chawla, president Chandigarh Congress stated here today that the virtual sale of Rs 25000 crore profit making UT Electricity department by Modi government for a mere Rs 871 crore to a private player smacks of high level corruption at the highest level, which should be inquired into by the CBI under supervision of a Supreme Court Judge.
Terming the decision to sell UT Electricity Department along with all its assets and real estate as anti-people and against National interest, Chawla urged the people of Chandigarh as well as other Trade unions of the Employees to oppose it tooth and nail in order to build pressure on the government
to take back the untenable decision.
Chawla further stated that transfer of UT’s Power Distribution set up is aimed at bringing a windfall profits to the cronies of Modi government to the detriment of the people of Chandigarh, who will have to pay more to satiate the greed of the rich corporate entity. This would prove to be disastrous for the country’s future, he added.
Reiterating that the Congress Party is in principle opposed to sale of Profit making Public Sector undertakings, Chawla stated that Chandigarh Electricity Department has been consistently running in profits, even when its electricity tariff is among the lowest in the country. The Department is likely to show a revenue surplus of more than Rs 365 crores this year. This has been achieved by cutting the line losses to around 9%, the lowest in the country. Besides this the Department has won the best utility award consistently for the last five years. Further, the standard performance time of resolution of electricity distribution complaints of the end users/consumers is much less than the performance standards prescribed by the JERC.
Chawla also urged the people of Chandigarh, who may face inconvenience due to the three day strike to bear with it in the larger national interest. It would be catastrophic for the country, if the BJP is not stopped from selling the vital national assets just for a song in order to add to the profits of their friends in Corporate sector, he added.
