Akhilesh: Power privatisation has anti-people chronology

Lucknow: Listing out the anti-people ‘chronology' of govt's plan to privatise the power sector, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said once privatised, the prices of power will be hiked to benefit the private players and exploit the people."Understand the chronology", Akhilesh said, adding: "First the BJP will privatise the power sector. Then it will hike power tariff and lay off power employees. Thereafter, BJP will outsource manpower on contract and pocket commission from contractors," Akhilesh said in a statement.He said BJP will use this privatisation of power sector as an alibi to hike power tariff and exploit the people. "From the money collected by the private power companies following hike in power rates, BJP will take its share from the backdoors and the same black money will be used to form govts. This vicious cycle will then be repeated to force people to shell out more money in another form," Akhilesh said.Akhilesh said exploitation of people by the BJP will not stop here. "Who knows if the water supply department will be privatised next," he said adding that the BJP is no longer concerned about anger and outrage of the (power) employees or the people towards such moves and policies. "This is because the BJP does not win elections on the basis of votes but on the basis of ‘khot' (deceit)," Akhilesh said, adding that this was one reason that the BJP is defeated in elections at places where the people are empowered and the administration is honest."Till now the BJP has taken no initiative to provide free and regular power supply to the people. Govt has done nothing to increase power generation or strengthen transmission and improve distribution. Instead, the BJP had turned a basic public need into a mechanism for ‘generation' of funds, ‘transmitted' these funds for ‘distribution' among themselves," Akhilesh said, adding: "The power employees of today say they don't want BJP anymore."Akhilesh also took to social media to post videos of the relay protest and agitation being held by the power department employees against govt plans to privatise the power sector.Akhilesh condoles SM Krishna's demiseAkhilesh Yadav offered condolences on the demise of veteran politician SM Krishna. "Deeply saddened by the demise of Karnataka's former chief minister, ex-governor of Maharashtra and former foreign minister SM Krishna. May his soul rest in peace and may God give strength to his family to bear the loss," Akhilesh said.
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