BJP district president Harvinder Singh Sandhu on Tuesday accused the Punjab government of failing to deliver on its promise of eight hours of uninterrupted power supply to farmers, despite repeated claims of a power-surplus state. Speaking at a press conference at the BJP office in Amritsar, Sandhu said the ongoing protests by farmers across Punjab—including grid gheraos and road blockades—have completely exposed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's assertions.
Farmers hit hard during paddy season
Sandhu highlighted that during the paddy transplantation season, Punjab's power demand surges to between 14,000 and 16,000 megawatts. However, the government's load management has proven inadequate. He stated that Punjab has nearly 1.394 million agricultural tubewells, which are crucial for the farming economy, yet farmers are receiving only three to four hours of erratic electricity supply instead of the promised eight hours.
Thermal plants underperform
The BJP leader also criticised the condition of Punjab's thermal power plants. “Several units at Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant remained shut, while the generation capacity of Ropar Thermal Plant also remained under pressure,” Sandhu said. He questioned why the government did not make backup arrangements if it knew demand would reach record levels during the paddy season.
Propaganda over substance
Sandhu accused the Aam Aadmi Party government of focusing on advertisements, social media, and image management rather than addressing ground realities. “On the ground, there is neither electricity, nor planning, nor accountability. This government is not power-surplus—it is propaganda-surplus,” he said.
Other BJP leaders present at the event included Dr Ram Chawla, Sukhminder Singh Pintu, Kumar Amit, Salil Kapoor, Mohit Mahajan, Jaspal Singh Shantu, Satpala Dogra, Gopal Verma, and Sudhir Shridhar.
