New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The All India Unorganised Workers and Employees Congress said the Congress will launch an agitation if privatisation of Chandigarh Electricity department is not halted.

AICC Unorganised Workers Congress chairman Udit Raj urged the Congress party leadership to take up the issue in the budget session of Parliament.

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Raj, former MP from Delhi, in a statement condemned the move of the Chandigarh electricity department to privatise it.

"The Modi government is not only snatching the bread and butter of employees, but also getting public assets robbed," he alleged.

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He said if the electricity department in Chandigarh is privatised, electricity will be out of reach of the poor people in the Union territory as power rates will be hiked after privatisation.

He said in spite of not increasing the price of electricity in the past five years, the Chandigarh electricity department has won the 'best utility' award among all Union territories, and the department has made profits of Rs 1,000 crore.

"The plant and machinery of the Chandigarh Electricity department is worth Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 crore and the government is proposing to sell the same for peanuts of Rs 817 crore. They are leasing/renting the land for Re 1 per month. This is daylight robbery of the public property," Raj alleged.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)