Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister A K Sharma feels “powerless”. Two months after he first expressed his frustration publicly at being “ignored” by officials, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a review meeting of the department last week. Now, Sharma has put out a post on his official X account alleging a threat to his life.
There have been reports of friction between ministers and MLAs of the BJP and officials in the state. However, the face-off between Sharma and his officials is striking — with the employee union of his department seeking his removal as Energy Minister.
A Gujarat-cadre IAS officer of the 1998 batch, seen as one of Narendra Modi’s most trusted bureaucrats, Sharma joined the PMO as Joint Secretary after Modi became Prime Minister. He was in the PMO till 2020, when he took VRS. In January 2021, he joined the BJP and, soon after, was elected as an MLC and made the UP BJP vice-president.
After the BJP returned to power in UP in the 2022 Assembly polls, Sharma was sworn in as minister and given the two significant portfolios of Energy and Urban Development.
On Monday, a message posted on Sharma’s official X account as minister described several power employees in the state as “anti-social” elements in reality, who had taken out a “supari (contract)” against him. “Those who have (taken) supari of Energy Minister A K Sharma… are upset since (the) Energy Minister does not bow before them,” it said.
The Energy Department employees have been protesting over plans to privatise power supply distribution across the state on the lines of Agra, where distribution was handed over to Torrent, under Mayawati as CM, in 2009. The decision was announced a few months ago, with a task force set up under the Chief Secretary.
With the employees protesting and holding several strikes over the issue, fearing a loss of jobs in case of privatisation, no headway has been made on the move.
In recent days, what has added to Sharma’s woes are reports from across the state of power outages, trippings, and failing transformers. The Opposition led by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has been criticising the government, especially Sharma, over this.
A rare meeting
On July 25, with the Assembly session approaching, Adityanath held a rare review meeting of the Energy Department, joined by Sharma virtually, where officials were warned about “recurrent” electricity tripping, over-billing and unscheduled outages.
The CM said the government has allocated a “record-breaking budget” to strengthen electricity generation, transmission and distribution. “In such a scenario, any form of negligence will not be tolerated. Accountability must be fixed at every level,” Adityanath said.
The post on Sharma’s official account, which went up Monday, questioned protests against him over the privatisation plans, pointing out that the decision was “taken by the task force formed under the chairmanship of the chief secretary” and after “high-level government nod”.
The post said that the employees knew well that “such a major decision of privatisation cannot be taken alone (by him)”. “When the Energy Minister cannot transfer even a JE (Junior Engineer), when the functioning of the UPPCL (Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited) is independent, then how could (the) Energy Minister take such a big decision?… It seems that all those who are jealous with A K Sharma have come together. But, God and public are with A K Sharma.”
Pointing to the frequent protests, the post said: “During A K Sharma’s three years’ tenure, they (power employees) have gone on strike four times. Why (is) there no strike in other departments? Is there no union there? Or are there no issues there?”
The post also accused protesting employees of “indecent acts” outside Sharma’s residence, and of using “uncivilised language” against the minister and his family.
The post alleged that the Agra privatisation move under Mayawati government, on the other hand, had drawn “no protests” despite the union members being the same, as “some big employee union leaders went on foreign tourism”.
A senior leader of the Energy Department employees’ union, Shailendra Dubey, told The Indian Express, “Whatever he (Sharma) is speaking these days shows his frustration since he is not able to enforce the privatisation programme, for which he was sent to Uttar Pradesh.”
On his allegations about a foreign tour by them in 2010, Dubey said: “Girish Pandey, On Prakash Pandey and I went to Mauritius to meet its then prime minister. The Bhojpuri Samaj organised the trip, for which we paid.”
He also challenged Sharma’s claim that they had not raised any objections to Torrent taking over power distribution in Agra, saying their protest against it has been on since then.
Two months ago, while addressing a public meeting at his home town Mau in May, Sharma first spoke out against officials of his department, saying those not listening to his instructions would face stern action. This followed attacks against him on social media over power outrages, with some protesters accosting him in districts.
Sharma said at the public meeting: “To those who think what is the worst the minister can do to them, that he doesn’t have the power to order transfers or suspend anyone… let me tell a story from the Ramayana to employees in the Power Department aur unko prerit karne walon ko (and those who are their inspiration). Once, Lord Ram was sitting with Maa Sita, when Indra’s son Jayant poked her in the feet as a prank. Lord Ram threw a twig that turned into an arrow and started chasing Jayant. He had to seek an apology from Lord Ram. Toh hum bhi agar tinka chhod denge aapke peeche, toh yahan se Dilli tak bhaagenge, Rashtrapati Bhavan tak bhaagenge, toh koi aapko nahin bachayega (Similarly, if I release a twig after you, you may run from here to Delhi, to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but no one will come to save you).”