Opposition turns heat on govt. ahead of strike against power privatisation

DMK, along with employees, would fight the move tooth and nail, says R. Siva

Ahead of the proposed indefinite strike by electricity workers from February 1, opposing the privatisation of the public utility, Opposition parties have ratcheted up pressure on the NDA government at the Centre and the Union Territory to withdraw the proposal.

On Saturday, trade unions of the Congress, DMK, VCK and the Left, staged a demonstration on Anna Salai, in solidarity with the strike call by the electricity engineers and Employees Privatisation Protest Committeee to thwart privatisation of the distribution functions of the Puducherry Electricity Department (PED).

Even as the Labour Department has initiated attempts for a conciliation with workers to call off the strike, a delegation of workers called on Power Minister A. Namassivayam, urging him to intervene to get the Centre to withdraw the privatisation proposal.

Meanwhile, V. Vaithilingam, MP, charged that the assets of the PED were grossly undervalued to benefit private parties. In a statement, he said while the department has substations, thousands of transformers and millions of street light poles worth billions, the government has estimated these assets to be privatised at just ?500 crore.

Traders, farmers and the poor will be severely affected by the move. It should remain in the government sector, he said and urged the government to maintain the PED as a public utility in the interests of the common man.

Leader of Opposition R. Siva demanded that Chief Minister N. Rangasamy spell out the government’s stand on privatisation instead of remaining ambiguous. Mr. Siva also sought to know the benefits and demerits of the move that the government and people of Puducherry would encounter. The government should release a white paper before allowing the proposal to reach finality, he said.

The government should realise that privatising power sector is a blow to the dignity and prestige of Puducherry, he said. He cautioned that protests would erupt if the government thought it could achieve the move by simply keeping mum. The DMK would be with the workers and fight the move tooth