Akhilesh dares PM Modi for a vaad-vivaad on bijli

Akhilesh Yadav wants to engage in a debate with Narendra Modi over power supply in Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow, Feb 21: Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi accept the challenge of incumbent Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for a debate on developmental issues? In poll-bound UP, supply of electricity has become a huge issue after PM Modi accused the ruling Samajwadi Party of adopting 'discriminatory attitude' in providing access to electricity to voters belonging to different religions.

In an interview to NDTV, Akhilesh said, "I am ready for a debate (vaad-vivaad) with the PM." "I can swear by the Ganga that I have provided electricity to religious places in towns like Mathura, Kashi. Now, let the PM swear by the Ganga that that is not the case."

On Sunday, during an election rally in Fatehpur, UP, PM Modi said that if power supply is available during Ramzan, it should be also available during Diwali. "If a graveyard is built in a village, so should there be a cremation ground. If there is electricity in Ramzan, it should also be there on Diwali; there should be no discrimination," the PM said at the rally.

In UP, power cuts are a regular affair. The problem is so acute that in many places, the residents of the state have to endure 12 to 16 hours of power cuts daily. This has made their lives miserable, especially for farmers and factory owners. As the state is all set to elect members for a new legislative assembly soon, majority of voters want solar power to solve the perennial problem.

According to a survey commissioned by 8minutes Future Energy Ltd, a huge chunk of voters have expressed their preference for solar power to deal with electricity crisis. The digital survey has been conducted recently in association with IndiaSpend and FourthLion.

The worst affected people by power cuts are women, rural people and Dalits. The survey has revealed that of the 38% of UP voters facing power cuts every day, 58% are women, 59% are rural voters and 61% Dalits.

OneIndia News