Manoj Tiwari attacks Kejriwal over power, water crisis

New Delhi: Accusing the Arvind Kejriwal government of failure to address the basic needs of Delhiites, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday said power outages and acute water crisis were gripping the national capital.

In a letter to Kejriwal, Tiwari said, "With Delhi temperature touching 48 degree Celsius, it is appalling to learn that the government led by you does not have the summer action plan in place till date. The government is clueless about power arrangements to meet the ever-growing electricity demand of the city which is constantly over the 7000 MW mark."

The MP from North East Delhi said a large number of localities in South, North, Outer and East Delhi have "already plunged into darkness".

The city is "staring at further power crisis due to short supply from power generation units in different states" since Delhi is dependent on other states for its power requirements, he said.

Tiwari, who is also the Delhi BJP president, wrote, "It is not just the power cuts but also severe water crisis that speaks volumes of your government's failure to address the basic needs of Delhiites. People, particularly women, are forced to stand in queues for 7-8 hours every day to fill their buckets from water tankers."

He said the "inaction" of the government has let the tanker mafia in the national capital to have "a free run".

Attacking Kejriwal, he contended, "Water is being sold at higher prices in colonies and all this when you are heading the Delhi Jal Board."

In his letter, Tiwari said, "The Delhi government has already collected over Rs 7,000 crore as fixed charges from the electricity consumers which you must refund on an immediate basis."

The BJP MP said, "This not only negates your government's claim of half-priced electricity and free water but also raises doubts on your intentions when it comes to women safety."

He asked the Delhi chief minister to take immediate steps to ensure water supply to every household.