Public anger was mounting over a "major electricity disaster" in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged, even as state energy minister Arvind Kumar Sharma said UP had achieved its highest-ever electricity supply.
The energy minister, however, also appealed for cooperation from the public.
Yadav, a former chief minister of UP, said that only family members could understand the plight of the elderly, the sick, children, and women struggling with shortages of water and electricity in the extreme heat.
He claimed that BJP MLAs and MPs were trying to protect themselves through "symbolic letters" and "paper shields".
In a post on X, Yadav wrote: "The letters through which frightened BJP MLAs and MPs are trying to protect themselves are not public interest communications to their own government, but applications seeking tickets from the opposition for the upcoming elections after abandoning the sinking ship called BJP.”
In an apparent swipe at energy minister Sharma, a former bureaucrat-turned-politician, Yadav said: "Those who once searched for an 'officer' instead of an opportunity during a crisis are now finding that the same officer has himself become a disaster.
"Problems cannot be solved by people who raise slogans and escape after throwing up their hands when asked for solutions," he said.
Questioning internal coordination in the BJP government, Yadav asked why the public should suffer because of the "clash" between the BJP's "double-engine" governments.
He said that the situation provided an opportunity to remove a "completely failed messenger-minister", adding that it would also give the chief minister an opportunity to expand the cabinet and accommodate some "disgruntled" leaders waiting for power.
The SP president alleged that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was aware that it would not return to power and was therefore ignoring public hardships while focusing only on "filling its coffers".
He concluded the post with the slogan: "People everywhere are saying today that the BJP has become a burden."
Meanwhile, UP energy minister Sharma said that peak power demand in UP touched 31,804 MW at 10:39 pm on Sunday night, the highest in the country.
In a series of posts on X on Sunday and Monday, Sharma said Uttar Pradesh has been setting new records in power supply.
“Massive Power Supply in UP… 31,804 MW peak supply was recorded last night at 22:39 hrs,” he wrote. “Not just in Uttar Pradesh, but no state in the country has achieved such supply. This is the highest ever in the state and the country so far. Moreover, forgetting the established roster, 24-hour electricity was provided everywhere. Even in rural areas, 22 to 22.5 hours of electricity was supplied.
“To those wandering around with contract in hand to malign UP's power, let us also inform you that our electricity workers are tirelessly and devotedly engaged day and night to resolve local disruptions arising from technical/natural or man-made causes,” Sharma wrote.
“Boost their morale. The patience and cooperation of all is earnestly requested.
In his Sunday post as well, Sharma had claimed that Uttar Pradesh had crossed the 31,000 MW peak supply mark at 2:33am, calling it the highest in the state's history.
He also said that the state had been consistently breaking its own records, adding that its "competition is only with itself."
Sharma’s cabinet colleague, Om Prakash Rajbhar told IANS: "Compared to winter, electricity consumption increases many times during summer. Transformers that were installed 20 years ago were designed for a load of around 50 units, but today they are handling nearly 250 units. In winter, these transformers manage the load, but in summer they become overloaded, leading to frequent breakdowns, burnt transformers, and snapped wires. Another major reason is that due to issues with CNG supply, people have started using electric heaters for cooking."
