Energy Minister Jagadish Reddy dares Congress leaders to debate

Energy Minister Jagadish Reddy said the State government had purchased power from the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC), an establishment of the Government of India, by ensuring transparency.

Suryapet: Reacting strongly to comments by Congress leaders on free power supply to agriculture, Energy Minister G Jagadish Reddy on Sunday said he was ready for an open debate by placing files related to power supply to the farm sector during the 2004-2014 tenure of the Congress government and during 2014-2023 by the BRS government.

Speaking to the media here, Jagadish Reddy said the State government had purchased power from the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC), an establishment of the Government of India, by ensuring transparency. The price for purchasing of electricity was fixed by NLDC and the State government would not know the name of the company that was producing the power purchased by it, he said.

---

Indirectly referring to allegations of Congress leaders on log books of sub-stations, he said he was ready to place the files related to power supply to the agriculture sector during periods of the earlier Congress government and the present BRS regime, and dared the Congress leaders for a debate on the issue.

He pointed out that power holidays were declared to industries in the State during the earlier Congress regime, when farmers too had faced tough times because of crop losses due to power cuts. The earlier Congress government had failed to provide irrigation facility to the ayacut of the left canal of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project for two crops in a year. The ayacut of the NSP left canal has been getting irrigation facility for 16 consecutive crop seasons since 2014. The people had also struggled to get drinking water before 2014, which was not the case now, he added.

Stating that the comments made by TPCC president A Revanth Reddy were reflective of the actual stand of the All India Congress Committee, he said some Congress leaders from Telangana were making false claims of the Congress providing free power to farmers as part of the damage control exercise after Revanth Reddy blurted out the party’s actual stand.

He also asked farmers to hold meetings at Rythu Vedikas in their villages and condemn the TPCC president’s statements.