Bengaluru Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday assured employees of the state’s power utilities that the government would not take a unilateral decision on privatization, saying the issue would come before the Cabinet and it would be decided after considering the views of employees.
Addressing the felicitation program organized by the Joint Federation of Karnataka Power Transmission Employees’ Union and Associations at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said: “I alone cannot decide whether power facilities should be privatized. We will discuss this issue in the next cabinet meeting and take a decision based on your opinion.”
Referring to the employees’ campaign against privatization, Shivakumar wondered why there was no organized opposition when the enabling legislation was introduced during the BJP’s tenure.
“You are demanding that power utilities should not be privatized. But when the BJP government brought the law in 2003, why did no one oppose it? No one protested or raised their voice at that time. Today you are approaching me and Power Minister KJ George and asking us not to allow privatization. If you condemn those who take wrong decisions and appreciate those who are doing good, your stand will have more credibility,” he said.
Shivakumar also questioned the rationale behind allowing private companies to benefit from infrastructure built by public sector employees. “You are the ones who laid the power lines with government support over several decades. Should private companies now be allowed to make profits by taking over electricity connections?” he asked.
He said that employees must view their relationship with the government as one built on trust and mutual responsibility. He said: “You can raise slogans in my name, but that alone does not matter. Our relationship is one of give and take, sharing and caring. If you stand by our side, we will stand by you. Your opinion will be my opinion, and I will respect the trust you have placed in me.”
Shivakumar added that the government will look into the matter collectively instead of allowing one individual to take the decision.
“I will put my trust in you when this issue comes before the Cabinet. If this trust is broken, I will have to look at the decision taken by the Vajpayee government. Do not allow this situation to arise. Our relationship must remain strong,” he said.
The Prime Minister also used the occasion to defend the Congress government’s record in the energy sector, comparing it to the BJP’s rule. “Did the BJP government come up with any major project to increase power generation? Did it build a new building for the ministry? During our previous government we built the Power Bhavan and created permanent infrastructure for the ministry,” he said.
“When I took charge of the department, transmission losses were 19%. We reduced it to 10%. We set up a 2,400 MW solar park on 13,000 acres without acquiring even a single acre of land in a single block. The model later inspired similar initiatives in other states. We also promoted decentralized power generation at the taluk level and the Center later introduced the Kusum scheme based on similar principles,” he added.
