Congress Workers Arrested in Chandigarh for Protesting Electricity Department Privatization

The Voice of Chandigarh News

Chandigarh Police detained hundreds of Congress workers near the Sector 18-19 Light Point when they took to the streets in protest against the privatization of the Chandigarh Electricity Department. The workers were marching towards Raj Bhavan with the intention of staging a gherao.

According to a press release from the Congress party, Chief Spokesperson Rajeev Sharma stated that several heads of Resident Welfare Associations, villages, and non-governmental organizations also participated in the protest. Notably, the number of female participants in the protest outnumbered the male participants.

Led by Congress Party President H.S. Lucky, the agitated workers, carrying placards and black flags opposing the central government’s privatization of public assets, were heading towards Punjab Raj Bhavan at around 12 PM when a large deployment of police and paramilitary forces stopped them. After H.S. Lucky and other senior leaders were arrested and taken to Sector 19 Police Station, the protesters continued their demonstration.

Addressing the gathered workers, H.S. Lucky criticized the move to privatize the Chandigarh Electricity Department, calling it a well-organized and profit-generating public service that was being handed over to a private businessman. He pointed out that this businessman had previously made significant donations to the BJP’s election fund. Lucky further explained that despite the department charging the lowest electricity tariffs in the country, it maintained just 10% line losses, and its response time for electricity complaints was the fastest in the nation.

The Congress party submitted a memorandum through DSP Dilbagh Singh to the UT Administrator, expressing concerns that the private contractor taking over the department would significantly raise electricity rates. They also accused the BJP of burdening Chandigarh’s residents with high taxes during its tenure in the Municipal Corporation, and now, by privatizing the electricity transmission, further aggravating the situation.

Congress leaders present at the protest claimed that the central government was selling national assets to businessmen like Adani, and now, another “Adani” was being imposed on the residents of Chandigarh by handing over the city’s electricity department assets to him. The party also expressed its disappointment that Prime Minister Modi, during his recent visit to Chandigarh, did not address the city’s pressing issues. Additionally, they criticized the Prime Minister for his indifference to the serious communal situation in Manipur.

The arrested workers were later released by the police.