UP: Power department employees end strike after talks with govt
Lucknow, Mar 19: Uttar Pradesh electricity department employees on Sunday ended their 72-hour strike after several rounds of talks between their leaders and state energy minister A K Sharma, saying the decision was taken to "respect the directions of the chief minister".
The protesting employees, who had started their strike at 10 pm on March 16, announced to call it off at around 3 pm on Sunday.
"A number of rounds of talks were held (with the government). We raised our problems and the (energy) minister agreed positively to fix them.
"Respecting the directions of the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath), the positive dialogue with the energy minister, and respecting the high court, we have decided to call off our 72-hour symbolic protest one day in advance in view of massive public interest," Shailendra Dubey, convener of Vidyut Karmacharis Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti, said while announcing the withdrawal of the strike.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, UP energy minister Sharma said the government held several rounds of talks with the samiti.
"I thank the employees of the electricity department for calling off their protest...I would request them to direct their employee friends to resume their duties, especially at those places where power supply was disrupted, be it a feeder or a sub-station.
"Some of the points during the talks were documented. We will talk about those, and make an effort to try to take them to a logical conclusion," the minister said.
Sharma said he has instructed the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited to withdraw the action initiated against the employees.
On Saturday, the energy minister had issued a stern warning to the protesting employees, directing them to join their duties by 6 pm, or face dismissal.
"A decision has been taken to initiate action against 22 people from the department under ESMA (the Essential Services Maintenance Act). Apart from this, instructions have also been issued to lodge FIR against those damaging government property and obstructing others from discharging their duties. An FIR has been registered against 29 people in this matter," Sharma had said.
According to sangharsh samiti convener Dubey, there are 70,000 contractual employees in the electricity department.
The protesting employees had alleged that some of their demands relating to pay anomalies and outsourcing of operation and maintenance of power sub-stations, agreed to by the state government in December last year, have not been fulfilled by power corporations even after three months.
Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav asked his party leaders and workers not to use inverters or generators till an end to the 72-hour-long strike called by employees of the electricity department.
"As the people of Uttar Pradesh are facing electricity crisis, I appeal to all the leaders, workers and well-wishers of the SP not to use alternative means such as inverters and generators personally until power supply is restored. The SP will undertake 'bijlee vrat' ('electricity fast') and will stand by the public," Yadav tweeted in Hindi.
The SP chief's tweet came before the strike was called off by the protesting employees.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
