DERC - Sham of a Hearing ...... was it done on purpose ? It was a Circus out there not a Hearing

Dear All,

Fool me once, Shame on You ...... Fool me twice, Shame on You ...... Fool me thrice, SHAME ON ME ..... 

This was the third consecutive Public Hearing that was Hijacked by Politicians and each time I had prepared hard for the hearing. This time I made the additional effort of coming back from Palampur a few days earlier only to attend a Sham of a meeting.

But why did I say .... was it done on purpose ? ...... As I entered, I noticed the front row was vacant and seemed reserved. The Hearing started sharp at 10:30 am and many RWA members started taking turns to speak ..... I have been appearing in Public Hearings since 2008 and have never seen most of the the initial speakers ........ at around 11:15 am some senior Delhi Congress leaders along with chamchaas walked in and occupied the front row.

A few speakers later Mr Mukesh Sharma's name was called as the next in line ...... at this the RWA members who have been regulars in the past many years objected as not one of them had yet spoken and where from had all these people turned up. Mr. Mukesh Sharma was not allowed to speak and was requested to await his turn as the meeting was on First Come - First Served basis .......

Most of the new speakers were actually singing praises of DISCOMS, actually Tata DISCOM  ....... At around 12:20 pm the first serious speaker Mr. Ashok Bhasin got a chance to speak, a while later Mr. A.K. Datta a stalwart at DERC  Hearings got his turn ..... in the middle of Mr. Datta's PRESENTATION (mark my choice of words, a lot of research had been done) Mr. Mukesh Sharma started shouting slogans and amidst chaos and the Chairman called an early lunch break.

The serious speakers who had prepared hard and could value add to the debate were miffed at this Circus, me included .... I left the venue in disgust as this was the third futile Hearing that was deliberately hijacked.

In future DERC should ensure that only those serious Activists who file written petitions be called on a separate day so that a meaningful Public Hearing can be held .....

by all means call an open Public Hearing on a separate day where all those wanting to empty their spleen can perform whatever verbal acrobatics they want to indulge in can be allowed in full media glare.

Now you decide was it a Sham or not or was it stage-managed ..... :)

Warm Regards,

Rajiv Kakria