Haryana power crisis due to ''mismanagement'' : Chautala

Karnal, Jan 30 (UNI) Mounting a frontal attack on the Congress government in the state, INLD Supremo and former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today said here that the power crisis in Haryana was due to the ''mismanagement'' on the part of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government.

''Within 24 hours of coming to power in the state, my government would supply 20 hours of power every day in the state,'' Mr Chautala claimed while interacting with reporters here.

The talk of development in the state during the three years rule of Congress was nothing short of hoodwinking the people. ''How can there be any development in the absence of power supply?'', he asked.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the Backward cell of his party here this evening, he said the Congress had played a ''cruel joke with the poor on the issue of BPL cards''.

He also criticised former chief minister Bhajan Lal and two of his associates, MLAs, Mr Dharampal Malik and Rakesh Kamboj, saying had they been sincere in their dealings to the people, they would not have sent post-dated resignations to the Speaker of Haryana assembly.''This smacks of pressure tactics and politics merely for personal advantage which has been the hallmark of Congress culture'', he added.

He said a third front of regional parties would come to power in the Centre in the next Parliament elections as they understood the local issues better and had more cocnern for the problems of the common people.

Running down the state as well as the UPA govcernment, he said establishment of SEZs would only result in bigger profit to the big industrial hosues at the cost of the middle class.

''While the big industrial houses can raise loan at the interest rate of 3 per cent, for small traders it was between 14 to 20 per cent. This discrimination would further lead to the elimination of the middle class as the rich would become more rich and the poor, poorer,'' he stressed.

UNI JN JS1902