BJP protests power outages in UP

Lucknow: The BJP`s Uttar Pradesh unit has upped its ante on power outages in the state and decided to hold a string of protests against the Samajwadi Party government.

The party, in the first phase, has begun holding protests across 75 districts of the state on Wednesday. The protests would continue on Friday also against the grim power scenario in the state. The statewide protests are being led by district BJP presidents and will demand an end to unscheduled power rostering and improvement of power generation and transmission. "It has been two years now that the state government has taken over. It should now stop blaming the predecessor state government of Mayawati and instead work towards solving the problem," said Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpayi. Accusing the Akhilesh Yadav government of turning a blind eye to the power crisis in the state, he added that so far the chief minister has failed to provide an inspiring leadership to the state. He himself holds the portfolio of power and should not be content with suspending a few power officials and blacklisting a few firms, said another senior leader. BJP state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said the party was of the view that the present power crisis has been precipitated by the poor and directionless policies of the Samajwadi Party government. "While unscheduled power cuts are not only leading to problems for the people it is also leading to a soaring crime graph," said Pathak, who accused Samajwadi leaders in many districts of indulging in vendetta politics. "All was okay till May 16, but after May 16 there has been a complete collapse of power supply in the state," he said in reference to the landslide victory of the BJP and complete rout of the ruling party in the Lok Sabha elections.