Srinagar : As a part of nation-wide campaign, a protest demonstration was held under the banner of CITU at Srinagar against privatization of electricity, railways, PSUs and installation of smart meters.
While addressing the demonstration, CITU President Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami expressed serious concern over problems being faced by the working class. The strike is part of the continuous struggle against the anti-worker and anti-people neoliberal policies of the BJP led government. The present government pro-corporate is reversing the hard-earned rights of the labour unions.
Privatisation of electricity emphasized the risk of establishing monopoly control over consumers through the market. The central government’s preferred approach, termed ‘unbundling,’ is essentially a move towards privatising the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The government aims to dismantle state-owned distribution companies, handing over the entire public asset to private players, both domestic and foreign. If the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 is passed, private distributors will not have to invest in creating their own distribution infrastructure to obtain a parallel license for electricity distribution.
The privatisation of railways would affect the dangerous consequences of unbundling the Indian Railways and separating the roles of policy, production, regulation, and operation to promote privatisation, which is the core strategy of the ruling class.
He said that the consumers are aggrieved and cannot afford inflated bills generated by Smart Meters. Despite resentment, the administration is going ahead with the move. We need adequate electricity but not meters only.
The CPI (M) leader said that the recent order of J&K administration warning employees to stay away from strikes, and subsequent disciplinary action is arbitrary and demanded its immediate rollback. The order contravenes the ILO conventions to which India is a party. The directive is yet another assault on the employee’s and worker’s constitutional rights.
