Vijayan-Satheesan clash over Kerala’s planned power purchase continues to emit sparks
Thiruvananthapuram: The political battle between Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan over Kerala’s proposed power purchase has intensified, with both leaders on Wednesday trading fresh charges over what has now become a major controversy for the UDF government.
With the government deciding against an immediate power purchase through the private GNA platform, Vijayan has demanded that Satheesan release all official files and documents relating to the proposed deal.
He alleged that the government had created an artificial power crisis to facilitate an expensive deal involving private interests.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan said the Chief Minister was yet to answer the specific questions raised by the Opposition, and instead was attempting to blame the previous LDF government.
He challenged Satheesan to make the official records public and said he had never argued in favour of purchasing electricity from Himachal Pradesh.
The latest developments, he said, had vindicated the Opposition’s position that Kerala was not facing an immediate power crisis.
Satheesan early in the day described the Opposition’s arguments as baseless and contradictory.
He maintained that the KSEB had neither issued an order nor signed an agreement with GNA.
Therefore, the question of withdrawing from an agreement did not arise, he said.
The Chief Minister noted that the file sent to him by the Electricity Minister had mentioned a rate of Rs 14.50 per unit for Himachal power and Rs 8.63 for GNA power.
Since Himachal had already committed its available power to Rajasthan, GNA appeared to be the cheaper option.
However, he said he had not directed the KSEB to sign an agreement and had instead sought a detailed assessment of the state’s actual requirements.
The controversy took a turn after the new KSEB Chairman and the Energy Secretary informed the Chief Minister that there was no immediate need to purchase additional power.
Satheesan has also said that the warning by the former KSEB chairman about prolonged power cuts if an immediate agreement was not signed needed to be examined.
The Chief Minister blamed the previous LDF government for failing to enter into long-term power purchase agreements and said its reliance on short-term purchases had contributed to the present difficulties.
He said the government was working on securing power from NTPC’s Sinnar plant at Rs 5.18 per unit and would put in place a long-term solution this month.
The Opposition, however, has continued to question the circumstances surrounding the proposed GNA deal, keeping the power purchase controversy alive as a major political flashpoint.