Press Release of Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh
(Translation of Hindi press release)
Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti UP
Press Release, 22 August 2025
State-wide protests continue against privatization: Sangharsh Samiti raises questions on extra-constitutional activities of All India Discom Association
Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh, has raised questions on the extra-constitutional activities of All India Discom Association regarding privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and has asked the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji to immediately stop the actions being taken by All India Discom Association regarding privatization. On the call of the Sangharsh Samiti, widespread protests continued across the state for the 268th consecutive day today.
Central office bearers of Vidyut Karmachari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, Uttar Pradesh, said today that it has come to light that the All India Discom Association, formed in connivance with private houses in the meeting of power distribution companies held in Lucknow in November 2024, is not only taking an interest in the privatization of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam, but efforts are also being made to serve the interests of private corporate houses under the guise of this association, which is extremely unfortunate and condemnable.
The Sangharsh Samiti said that the All India Discom Association has the Chief Executive Officers of private corporate houses along with the current Chairman and Managing Directors of the Power Distribution Corporation. Alok Kumar, former Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and former Energy Secretary of the Government of India, is a retired IAS on the post of Director General of the Association. The General Secretary of the Association is Dr. Ashish Goyal, the current President of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation. The Sangharsh Samiti said that the fact that Dr. Ashish Goyal is forming an association with private corporate houses while being the Chairman of the Power Corporation is a violation of government confidentiality and is also a case of conflict of interest. The Sangharsh Samiti said that transparency demands that in such circumstances, Dr. Ashish Goyal should either remove himself from the All India Discom Association or else he should himself resign from the post of Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation.
The Sangarsh Samiti said that it has also come to light that the All India Discom Association is taking donations worth crores of rupees from all the power distribution corporations of the country. The CEO of a big private corporation has been appointed as the treasurer of the association. It is being said that the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation has given donations worth several crores to the All India Discom Association. The Sangharsh Samiti said that if donations worth crores of rupees are being taken by the Association, then the government should investigate who has formed this organization, for what purpose, and under which head the power distribution corporations of the country are giving donations to it, and its audit should be done by CAG. It is completely unethical and improper to collect donations worth crores of rupees by forming such an organization without the permission of the government.
The Sangharsh Samiti said that it is also being learnt that the former Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and former Energy Secretary of the Government of India, retired IAS Shri Alok Kumar is holding informal meetings with senior officials of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation and is motivating them to speed up the process of privatisation. This is a very serious matter which should be investigated and stopped immediately.
The Sangharsh Samiti said that owing to the frustration of not being able to privatise Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam and wanting to implement privatisation eagerly, the former and present officials of the Power Corporation are working unconstitutionally in connivance with private corporate houses.
On the call of the Sangharsh Samiti, today, for the 268th consecutive day, electricity workers continued their massive protest against privatisation across the state.
Today, protests were held in Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Mirzapur, Azamgarh, Basti, Aligarh, Mathura, Etah, Jhansi, Banda, Bareilly, Devipatan, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahar, Noida, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Harduaganj, Jawaharpur, Pariksha, Panki, Obra, Pipri and Anpara.
Shailendra Dubey
Convenor