New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh energy minister A.K. Sharma has accused the energy department’s employees of having taken out a supari (contract) against him, describing them as “anti-social elements” in a post on X.

This public lashing comes two months after he first voiced concerns about being “ignored” by his department officials, prompting chief minister Yogi Adityanath to hold a review meeting.

According to the Indian Express report, the department officials are seeking Sharma’s removal as the energy minister.

“Those who have (taken) supari of Energy Minister A.K. Sharma… are upset since (the) Energy Minister does not bow before them,” Sharma’s post on X said.

He also referred to frequent protests against him during his tenure and asked why there were no protests in other departments.

Energy department employees have been protesting against plans to privatise power supply distribution across the state based on the 2009 Agra model, where distribution was handed over to Torrent under then chief minister Mayawati.

The decision for state-wide privatisation of power supply was announced a few months ago, with a task force set up under the chief secretary, the paper reported. The announcement caused panic among energy department employees who fear a loss of jobs owing to the move. 

In an attempt to shield himself from the ire of his department employees, Sharma, in his post on Monday, said, “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 [of] A K Sharma have come together. But, God and [the] public are with A K Sharma."

The minister further said that the 2009 move was not met with any protests from the department, despite the employees' union consisting of the same members it does today. There were no protests because "...some big employee union leaders went on foreign tourism” the minister alleged.

Shailendra Dubey, a senior leader in the employee union, refuted the claims. "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," Dubey said, adding, "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.”

Sharma also said that the employee union had protested against the 2009 privatisation of power supply in Agra.

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