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Cong blames Akalis for SC’s verdict on more power to Himachal
Punjab Congress on Wednesday said that the Akalis, particularly Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who spearheaded the separate Punjabi Suba movement, were to be squarely blamed for the recent Supreme Court verdict giving extra power share to Himachal Pradesh.
A day before Himachal got a bonanza as the SC substantially raised its share of electricity from the Bhakra and Beas hydropower projects with retrospective effect from 1966 in the case of Bhakra-Nangal.
Reacting to the SC judgement, Singh said that he has been consistently maintaining that the Akalis because of their narrow and sectarian vision had broken Punjab into pieces along religious lines and in the process surrendered huge resources like potential for hydroelectric power.
“Akalis wanted to make Punjab a Sikh majority State with the sole purpose to form the Government in the State. But still they could never form the Government of their own although they surrendered so much in the bargain to newly created States of Himachal and Haryana and the SC verdict is the outcome of that narrow vision,” added Singh.
He pointed out that had Punjab not been fragmented into small parts the State would be having huge hydroelectric power potential and it would never face power shortage.
Expressing grave concern over the power situation, which will further get deteriorated by the SC decision, the PCC president said, the State will now be pushed into further darkness.
Despite low electricity demand, the State Government has introduced a four-day power cut to industries and regular cuts to domestic consumers particularly when they had been claiming to make Punjab power surplus.
The former Chief Minister said that after Himachal gets extra share which will consequently mean lesser share to Punjab now onwards and the closure of the Unit IV of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant at Bathinda, there is going to be severe power crisis in the State.
A day before Himachal got a bonanza as the SC substantially raised its share of electricity from the Bhakra and Beas hydropower projects with retrospective effect from 1966 in the case of Bhakra-Nangal.
Reacting to the SC judgement, Singh said that he has been consistently maintaining that the Akalis because of their narrow and sectarian vision had broken Punjab into pieces along religious lines and in the process surrendered huge resources like potential for hydroelectric power.
“Akalis wanted to make Punjab a Sikh majority State with the sole purpose to form the Government in the State. But still they could never form the Government of their own although they surrendered so much in the bargain to newly created States of Himachal and Haryana and the SC verdict is the outcome of that narrow vision,” added Singh.
He pointed out that had Punjab not been fragmented into small parts the State would be having huge hydroelectric power potential and it would never face power shortage.
Expressing grave concern over the power situation, which will further get deteriorated by the SC decision, the PCC president said, the State will now be pushed into further darkness.
Despite low electricity demand, the State Government has introduced a four-day power cut to industries and regular cuts to domestic consumers particularly when they had been claiming to make Punjab power surplus.
The former Chief Minister said that after Himachal gets extra share which will consequently mean lesser share to Punjab now onwards and the closure of the Unit IV of the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant at Bathinda, there is going to be severe power crisis in the State.
