HYDERABAD, May 26: The reported remarks of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu dubbing the employees of the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board ``most corrupt'', has generated strong resentment among its 74,000 employees who now want him to substantiate his charge or quit.

They have also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry ``to book the real culprits in matters of corruption in public life''.

So seriously have they taken the ``insult'' that the Engineers' Association president B M Gandhi Reddy promptly submitted his resignation as divisional engineer of the board at Hindupur.

The joint council of APSEB employees'action committee of all unions and associations has in a strongly-worded statement alleged that the chief minister wanted to ``throw away this great electricity board to the business community'' and the opposition to the move by the employees had stirred his wrath.

``Since the employees are coming in his way for his motivated reorganisation, he is now calling the electricity board corrupt, like the saying `call the dog mad and kill it','' the statement said.

The joint council pointed out that the chief minister had on many an occasion lauded the services of the board and its employees for overcoming difficult situations and keeping the supply going during crises like the recent one when standing crops dependent on borewells had to be saved through continuous supply of power.

The services of the APSEB had increased multifold and ``today we are serving one crore consumers with the same staff as in 1983,'' they said.

The policies of successive governments were implemented by the board faithfully though it incurred heavy losses due to the ``irrational policies'' like subsidies to various categories of consumers.

The employees' representatives had told the chief minister several times to ``correct himself'' and asked him to allocate the necessary budget to rebuild the board's finances. By calling the board corrupt, he had lost the moral right to continue as Chief Minister, as he holds the power portfolio too.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, at the recent meeting of chief ministers at Delhi, had made a presentation and disclosed that his government had got a survey conducted on the people's perception of corruption.

They had opined that the board was corrupt. The chief minister clarified on Sunday that he did not mean the board was inefficient or the employees corrupt.

But this has obviously not set the record straight and the employees have even threatened to launch direct action if he did not explain his stand ``or resign voluntarily''.

Protesting against Naidu's statement, divisional engineer Gandhi Reddy in his resignation letter sent to the board chairman said he had been hurt by the remarks and was thus quitting.

``This act of mine should be an eye-opener to the chief minister, who has closed his eyes and ears to the interest of the State, and at least make him understand the insult he has meted out to the employees of the State and those of the board in particular,'' he said.The chief minister is already facing the ire of employees of the State Secretariat for thrusting computerisation on them.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.