Delhi: Power Sector Employees Not Allowed to Demonstrate Against Privatisation, Alleges Union

Employees from the power sector, up in arms against the Centre for pushing to amend the Electricity Act, alleged on Thursday that Delhi Police didn’t allow them to stage a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

The power sector employees had given the call for a four-day ‘Satyagrah’ here at Jantar Mantar from Tuesday. The protest would be under the guidance of the National Coordination Committee of Electricity Employees & Engineers (NCCOEEE), an umbrella body of the electricity staff federations.

“The police didn’t allow us to enter the venue or even stand on the road,” Prasanta N. Chowdhary, convenor, NCCOEEE told Newsclick over the on Thursday. He added that the union had informed the Deputy Commissioner of Police at Parliament Street Police Station about the demonstration in advance, but added that they were not allowed to gather on Thursday regardless.

“This had happened on Wednesday as well,” Chowdhary further claimed. “We, the electricity employees, condemn this brutal behaviour by the Delhi Police to not even allow us to protest peacefully,” he alleged. The Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Ministry.

The Narendra Modi-led Central Government has listed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session. What electricity employees fear about the contentious Bill, above all, is the move towards privatisation of power distribution across the country – already underway in a few states and union territories.

Prompted by the same, the NCCOEEE has also given a nationwide call to boycott work for one day on August 10.

On Thursday, at the ‘Satyagrah’ programme of the electricity employees, Chowdhary informed Newsclick that Elamaram Kareem, Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, was to participate and address the protesting employees. “However, it had to be cancelled since we had no place to gather,” he said.

Asked whether the union would press for staging a protest on Friday, Chowdhary said that the employees will “certainly” mark their presence at the Jantar Mantar. “We have now given a call to our people in all states to protest on August 9 against the undemocratic steps of the Centre to curb the democratic right of the employees to protest,” he said.