‘PMO man' AK Sharma back in spotlight but for the wrong reasons, from UP power cuts to viral rants

The Print

5 days ago

It was on Wednesday that Sharma called the meeting with the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited engineers deployed across the state and UPPCL Chair Ashish Kumar Goyal. After hearing what the officials had to say, the power minister harshly criticised them, saying their version of the power situation was far from the reality in UP.
Earlier, videos of a power cut at one of his public events attracted a barrage of snide remarks against him. Another video showing Sharma chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' when questioned about frequent outages came under Opposition attack recently.
More than once, Sharma has also been caught on camera unable to respond to people complaining about the gaps in UP's electricity supply network.
Not only as power minister but also as urban development minister of UP, Sharma has been facing protests. On a 19 July visit to the Banke Bihari temple in Mathura's Vrindavan, he faced a protest by local traders opposing the BJP-proposed temple corridor and trust formation in their area.
The protests had started nearly 50 days earlier, but the traders raised their voices on seeing the minister, shouting slogans such as 'corridor hai-hai'. Reports of tensions and misbehaviour by the police towards women protesters followed.
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Meeting with power officials
The latest videos from his meeting with the power department officials show A.K. Sharma claiming that MLAs have been criticising him as the minister in charge of the power portfolio due to frequent outages in UP. Based on recent visits to various districts to check the situation on the ground, he also claimed to have found several power supply issues.
'Stop speaking nonsense,' Sharma told officials. 'I have just returned after visiting several districts. You are sitting here, blind, deaf, and with one eye open. What the public has been going through or what they think about your department, you do not know. You are sending fake reports and misleading the top leadership.'
The minister said the condition of the power department was worse than that of the police department. 'The electricity department is not a money-lender shop that only collects bill payments but is meant to serve the people,' he said, questioning why the department cuts off entire feeders or village power lines even though some consumers continue to pay their electricity bills on time. 'What kind of justice is this if you do not replace or upgrade burnt transformers for those who are paying?'
He did not stop there. 'It looks like the power department is working to ruin our (state government) image. Today, in this digital age, people are getting power bills in crores, allegedly by mistake, and then they have to pay bribes to get the bills corrected. Vigilance raids are conducted at the wrong places, whereas large-scale power theft goes unchecked, and complaints to the police are made only after taking money,' Sharma added.
Urging officials to record everything discussed in the meeting, Sharma further said, 'I am tired of just giving speeches. You people, hear us in the meetings, but then act on your own accord. This trend can not continue. I am answerable to the public and the assembly. Who gave you the right to make random decisions? The entire state is suffering because of your poor and untimely actions.'
The video of this meeting is circulating on social media, but Sharma had more to say.
The next day, he had a warning for senior officials with the electricity department. 'I explained it for three years, but now, that time is over. If the officers in the electricity department think the minister can not transfer or suspend, understand that if I shoot an arrow like Ram ji, no one—from Delhi to Rashtrapati Bhavan—will be able to save you,' Sharma said Thursday.
Viral videos & criticisms
Officials in the power department told ThePrint that A.K. Sharma, frustrated with the constant criticism he faced in the districts he visited as well as on social media, reacted the way he did at the meeting Wednesday. Due to the frequent outages in UP, Sharma has come under heavy criticism from local leaders and traders.
On 20 July, at a public event he attended in Moradabad late on Sunday night, the electricity went off, with social media widely ridiculing the viral video of the moment.
Several other viral videos show people confronting the minister about recurring power cuts in their localities. In many of the cases, Sharma had no answers to offer.
Earlier, on 12 July, a video went viral showing Sharma chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' when confronted by people questioning him over electricity supply issues.
The video sparked widespread criticism from the Opposition.
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav shared the clip, along with his reaction, on the social media platform, X.
'Now, the electricity department will sell in the BJP market, and the huge bills of private companies will make a dent in the pockets of the public. Under BJP rule, there has been no improvement in power generation, transmission, or distribution. When the public questions this, BJP leaders have no answers; their power goes off too.'
Sharma also faced criticism when, in the context of Bihar leaders promising free electricity units before the assembly elections, he commented on 19 July, 'Na bijli ayegi na bill (neither will there be electricity nor will there be bills).'
Since his statement came shortly after the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government announced its free electricity scheme, many interpreted it as a sarcastic dig at what was announced by the Bihar CM, whose party is a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Later, issuing a clarification, Sharma had to say that he had not been attacking BJP ally Janata Dal United, but the Rashtriya Janata Dal. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has also promised free electricity units if his party wins the polls.
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His journey & clarifications
A.K. Sharma joined the BJP in January 2021 and was made a UP cabinet minister in March 2022 when Yogi Adityanath took office as the UP chief minister for his second term.
Seen as the PMO man in the UP government, Sharma and Yogi have hardly been seen in the same frame at official meetings. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, however, has never publicly commented on Sharma's working style.
Sharma's PMO links go back to when he became joint secretary at the office in 2014, followed by his promotion to the rank of additional secretary in 2017.
In April 2020, during the peak of the migrant crisis amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Sharma was appointed the secretary of the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
Just nine months later, he took voluntary retirement and entered politics.
Once in UP, Yogi gave him two key departments—power and urban development.
A BJP MLA from western UP told ThePrint, 'Sharma ji is an intelligent person, but his working style is more like that of a civil servant. He rarely picks up calls. He manages everything through his team. But in politics, direct contact with local leaders and the public is important.'
A senior official in the power department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, 'Sharma ji understands the system well and gets respect for it. But many hesitate to approach him due to the notion that he is someone very close to the PMO. Moreover, the Chief Minister's Office has control over the power department. Officials have direct access to the CMO.'
When ThePrint attempted to contact Sharma, his office said that he was unavailable to comment on the matter.
On Thursday evening, Sharma, however, posted a clarification on X, asserting the public had misjudged his comments at his meeting with the power officials, in a bid to dismiss an ongoing social media controversy around the targeting of Baniyas.
Sharma clarified that he did say a few things to ensure that the handling of public services such as power supply became sensitive and better for the 'common man and poor' as well as that 'which meets public expectations'. 'Among other things, I said we are running a public utility. We are not running a merchant shop where if you do not pay, you will not get the goods.'
Sharma said that the public thought he chided the power officials saying they were not running a Baniya shop, where goods are handed out only after payment. The public, he said, wrongly linked his statement to the honesty/dishonesty of the merchant or Vaishya community. Requesting that people listen to the audio carefully, Sharma reiterated that he did not say, nor did he intend to say, what the public had widely thought.
Sharma also said that people should hear his speech from his perspective, considering his sentiments, against the backdrop of the failures of his department. 'This is a public service… we will have to behave accordingly.'
'Baniya does not mean any particular class. It was only said to point out the difference between public service or public utility, and commercial or business venture,' he added.
Sharma's post ended, asserting that the 'Mahajan, Vaishya, or Baniya class has a place both important and prestigious in society'.
'They have a high place in Indian society and culture since ancient times. I respect them completely. Knowingly or unknowingly, there was no intention to insult them in any way. Nor can there be.'
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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