Kejriwal joins hands with agitating BSES employees

India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday joined protesting BSES employees to express solidarity with them at the power discom’s office in east Delhi.

India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Monday joined protesting BSES employees to express solidarity with them at the power discom’s office in east Delhi.

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The agitating employees have threatened to go on mass casual leave during Diwali if the government did not pay heed to their problems. Kejriwal, however, requested for a re-think to avoid inconvenience to the people.

Kejriwal, along with other IAC members — Gopal Rai and Sanjay Singh, joined agitating employees of BSES near Karkardooma courts.

Balveer Singh, general secretary of the erstwhile Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking (DESU), had met Kejriwal recently and gave him documents as evidence of exploitation of employees by the discoms and sought IAC’s support.

“Power companies asked employees to sign salary slips with much higher amount than were actually paid. The companies are also getting the employees to sign on blank papers and making resignation letters out of them to throw the workers out,” Singh had claimed.

Warning the BSES against taking any action against the employees, Kejriwal said, “Otherwise, we will intensify our agitation.”

He said the government was not able to cancel contracts of these companies (power discoms) despite their contracts having expired. “If any labourer from such companies are injured in an accident, the police do not register any FIR against them stating that they are not on contract any more,” he claimed.