Modi poser on UP power reforms, data suggest otherwise

PM Modi accused Akhilesh Yadav of discriminating against people on the basis of religion and caste

Narendra Modi, Modi, Narendra — Narendra Modi

Last Updated : Feb 20 2017 | 1:09 AM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) government of discriminating against people on the basis of religion and caste, including the manner in which land was allocated for Muslim graveyards and Hindu cremation grounds, and electricity supplied during festivals.

“If a village has a graveyard, it should also have a cremation ground. If there is electricity on Ramzan, it should also be there on Diwali…There should be no discrimination,” he said.

The statement came on the day 69 seats in central Uttar Pradesh went to polls as part of the third phase of the seven-phase Assembly elections.

The Congress and SP said they would move the Election Commission to complain how the PM was attempting to polarise the elections on religious lines, and that it violated the model code of conduct.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary, a Cabinet minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, said Modi and BJP president Amit Shah were indulging in “political terrorism”. He said Modi’s effort to “give a communal turn” to the election indicated BJP’s nervousness at its poor performance in the three phases. Chaudhary also contested that the PM’s facts were wrong on allotment of plots for cremation grounds and cemeteries, and on power supply.

At a public rally in Fatehpur district, which goes to polls in the fourth phase on Thursday, the PM said that everybody in UP felt discriminated. He said the Dalits complained that OBCs, or Other Backward Classes, were favoured.

Sources in the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation also disputed his claims. “Power sector reforms have been one of the foremost achievements of the Akhilesh Yadav government, and the government data as well as feedback from the ground bears that out,” a top official, who didn’t want to be named given the model code of conduct being in force, said. The official said power was supplied during all festivals alike. Uninterrupted electricity supply had been ensured to Dargah Kichochha in Ambedkar Nagar district, Deva Sharif Dargah in Barabanki, Buddhist stupa in Shravasti, Panj Pyare Gurudwara in in Meerut, Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Bankey Bihari temple in Vrindavan, the official added.

In his previous public rallies in the state, the PM had brought up the efforts of his government to reach electricity to 18,000 villages across India, which were without power supply even after 70 years of independence. He said most of these villages were in Uttar Pradesh. But this pitch found little resonance in a state that has witnessed a marked improvement in power supply.

Uttar Pradesh still remains a power deficient state. But ask an industrialist in Kanpur, any trader in Lucknow or those living in villages around cities and towns, they say power supply has improved significantly in the past five years. “The power situation has seen a huge change. The industry has benefitted,” says Mohammad Saif Khan, owner of Bestochem, a Kanpur-based dealer of leather chemicals.

According to UP Power Corporation data, power availability doubled from 8,500 Mw in 2011-12 to 17,500 Mw 2016-17. If rural areas received 8 to 10 hours of power supply, these now get up to 18 hours, and power supply is nearly round the clock in districts and cities. Last five years have also seen UP power sector add significant power generation capacity and created transmission and distribution network.