Lucknow, July 29 -- Amid a confrontation between energy minister AK Sharma and power employees, particularly union leaders, a post on X by his office appears to have escalated matters even as questions are raised about the reasons for the increasingly combative tone at a time when the minister has hit out at strikes and protests called by employee leaders in the power department on the privatisation issue.

The post by the minister's office on X alleged that vested interests had joined hands against him. There was also a press release by his office to the same effect.

The post, in essence, said that disruptive elements disguised as power employees were targeting Sharma because he did not yield to employees' union pressure. Despite multip...