Chandigarh: Haryana Panchayat and Development Minister Devender Singh Babli is facing backlash from the state’s power engineers after publicly humiliating a sub-divisional engineer (SDE) at Jakhal in Fatehabad district earlier this week.
The incident occurred Tuesday when the minister was listening to people’s grievances at Jakhal town, part of his Tohana assembly segment. Following the incident, Haryana Power Engineers Association (HPEA) vowed not to attend any meeting chaired by the minister till he apologises for his behaviour.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Babli is seen yelling at SDE Amit Yadav, amid cheers from his supporters, “Ye…bakwas karta hai! Tera dimag kharab hai ke? Islo suspend karo. Hero! Saari herogiri ghusa doonga! Dakait! (He is talking nonsense…Are you out of your mind? Suspend him! I will remove all your heroism! Dacoit!)”.
At the meeting, Babli was informed by a Diwana village resident that he had approached Yadav for the removal of a transformer from his land but the SDE said he would need to deposit money with the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) for it.
When Yadav tried explaining the rules, a livid Babli was heard saying, “Pehle toh bechare ke khali plot par transformer rakh diya aur ab jab wo hatwana chahta hai to paise mangte ho (First, you placed a transformer on the poor fellow’s plot and now when he wants to get it removed, you are demanding money?)”
Yadav said that according to the provisions of the Electricity Act, an estimate is prepared depending upon the distance (between the location of the transformer to where it has to be moved), and the applicant has to deposit that money in the account of DHBVN.
Yadav tried to explain that the transformer had been on the said plot for over eight years and that he was posted there only a few months ago, but Babli did not listen to him. Meanwhile, his supporters clapped and raised slogans: “Devender Babli Zindabad”.
Later, the HPEA held a gate meeting at the DHBVN headquarters in Hisar against Babli’s conduct. It said its members will not attend any meeting chaired by Babli until he apologises.
A press note by the association — signed by Vijender Lamba, State President, and Anil Nagar, General Secretary of Haryana Power Engineers Association — alleged that ministers like Babli seek cheap publicity by abusing officers in their Janata Darbars. “…This particular minister pressures officers to go against the rules and wants them to ignore power thefts, complete works of people without deposit of statutory charges, or by not disconnecting power of defaulters,” said the note that ThePrint has accessed.
It said the DHBVN management has assured them of appropriate action. The association has also informed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Power Minister Ranjit Singh, and chairman of the Haryana power utilities, P.K. Das, about its concerns and “resentment against the incident in writing”, it said.
While Yadav refused to react to the incident when ThePrint reached him via phone, Babli said he regretted his choice of words but added that he will not apologise.
“Apology? I will set them right. They have turned into dacoits. Poor people keep visiting their offices for their petty work, but they (power engineers) don’t move till their palms are greased. I will not tolerate this kind of extortion in my constituency,” he said to ThePrint.
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SDE ‘in state of shock’
SDE Yadav, who was reportedly removed from the meeting venue following Babli’s tirade, had joined the services on 16 March 2021.
Earlier this year, he even received a letter of appreciation from the organisation for his excellent work.
When ThePrint reached him over the phone Wednesday, he said, “I am not in the right frame of mind to speak to you.”
“He is still in shock…He seems to have gone into depression,” one of his colleagues said to ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
The minister, meanwhile, called the DHBVN officials “extortionists”, and said: “Only three days back, they entered a house at Tohana during the early hours in the name of checking power theft.”
“The owner of the house died of a heart attack. An FIR has been lodged under Section 304 of the IPC (causing death by negligence),” he said.
When ThePrint reminded Babli that the charges Yadav mentioned were according to the Electricity Act, the minister asked who authorised the DHBVN officials to install the transformer on the complainant’s land in the first place.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)