PUDUCHERRY: Lok Sabha member and Senior Congress leader V Vaithilingam. opposition parties, and Leader of Opposition and State DMK convenor R Siva on Friday participated in the hunger strike in solidarity with employees of the Puducherry Electricity Department. This comes as the protestors enter the third day of their strike, condemning the move to privatise power distribution in Puducherry.
Siva charged that the government has not discussed or consulted with political parties or any leaders regarding the move. "The Centre decided to privatise the power sector with the Lt Governor, the Chief Minister, and the Chief secretary listening to them, which is highly reprehensible. Therefore, in consultation with all parties, a decision should be taken to stop the privatisation. This government is afraid to convene the legislature about the issue," he said.
Similarly, Vaithilingam demanded the AINRC, BJP and AIADMK should come clear with their stand on privatisation of the power sector. He accused Chief Minister N Rangasamy of giving approval for every decision of the Centre to retain his post, without considering the adverse effect on people. “Does Puducherry require such a Chief Minister?" he asked
Further, he questioned the Central government’s decision to privatise the PED which is not suffering losses since it is involved only in distribution and not production. "Who gave the government the right to sell the public assets of the PED, without informing people of the details of the privatisation proposal. Similarly, who gave the government rights to hand over the employees to a private organisation?" he asked.
Stating that there could be an adverse impact on people and employees, Vaithilingam said he was ready for a debate with the government on privatisation.