As record-setting temperature hits the capital city of New Delhi, the ongoing power crisis has left people sweltering in heat with no relief. Additionally, instead of coming up with a solution, political parties are simply engaging in a blame-game.
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal called for an emergency meeting with lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi government officials to discuss the issue, on Tuesday.
This comes after the LG on Sunday, ordered power cuts to shopping malls after 10pm, and said that the street lights must be switched off and the air conditioners must be turned off in government officers. The decision was made, after the highest temperatures in 10 years forced the city to go into a power saving mode.
On Monday, the city recorded a high of 45.5 degree Celsius, six degrees above normal. The maximum on Tuesday is expected to touch around 46 degrees. This comes as parts of the city spent six hours without electricity Monday evening.
The power crisis, however, has extended into a political blame game with parties trading charges to one another for the failure.
The BJP blames the Congress for the crisis as it has governed the region for 15 years till they were defeated in December's Election.
"We are suffering because of the inaction of the previous government," Goyal said ahead of his meeting with top leaders in Delhi, reports NDTV. He added that transmission and distribution problems have accumulated over the years and were ignored by the concerned.
On the other hand, BJP and Aam Aadmi Party have also engaged in a political furor over the issue, with the latter blaming the former for what has happened.
AAP MLAs on Tuesday staged a protest outside the Union health minister Harsh Vardhan's house in east Delhi, demanding an urgent action from the centre to supply the city with adequate electricity.
"BJP is in power at the Centre and Vardhan is a Union minister as well as Delhi BJP president. It is the responsibility of the ruling party at the Centre to address the problem of power supply in Delhi. That is why we have come here," Manish Sisodia told reporters, adding that there were 22 AAP legislators gathered in front of Vardhan's residence and that they submitted a memorandum to his personal staff.
The national capital has been reeling under a series of long power cuts ranging from one to six hours every day, after a devastating storm last week severely damaged major power transmission lines across the city.
Congress and AAP have been blaming BJP, arguing that the central government cannot escape the responsibility for the crisis.
Vardhan has, however, refused to take responsibility and instead, shot back at the two rival parties saying the responsibility for the situation must be shared between AAP and Congress.
"Congress was in power for 15 years. The AAP was in power for 49 days. They are to be blamed for the situation not the BJP as our party has not come to power in Delhi yet," Hindustan Times quoted Vardhan.
