Union minister Prahlad Joshi on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks over the shortage of coal and power crisis in the country. Joshi, who is the coal and mines minister, quipped that Gandhi had become a 'fake astrologer' and deflected his criticism of the government by pointing to coal scams during the Congress' time in charge.
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"Rahul Gandhi has become a fake astrologer these days. Instead of telling what is going to happen due to the shortage of coal in the country, he should tell the country how big a coal scam happened during his government and how much loss the country incurred due to this fraud," Joshi said on Facebook.
He said the government is taking steps to increase coal production, and pointed out that production had, in fact, to 777 million tons in Financial Year 2021/22.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Rahul Gandhi had underlined appeals to the Centre over a coal and electricity crisis that 'has created havoc in the entire country'.
"On April 20, 2022, I told the Modi government to stop running the bulldozer of hatred and start power plants in the country. Today, the coal and electricity crisis has created havoc in the entire country," Gandhi said yesterday.
{{/usCountry}}"On April 20, 2022, I told the Modi government to stop running the bulldozer of hatred and start power plants in the country. Today, the coal and electricity crisis has created havoc in the entire country," Gandhi said yesterday.
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"Saying it again - This crisis will destroy small industries, due to which unemployment will increase further. Small children cannot stand this scorching heat. The lives of patients admitted to hospitals are at stake. There will be financial loss by stopping rail and metro services,"he posted on Facebook.
Several states are facing a power crisis - believed to be the worst in years - as electricity demand skyrockets because of a heatwave in parts of the country.
On Saturday, Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) said it has over six million tons in coal stocks.
“We have the target of sending 1.85 lakhs tonnes per day to power plants in Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar & Jharkhand. The inter-ministerial group is monitoring the situation. The situation is manageable,” PM Prasad, the chairman and managing director of CCL, told news agency ANI.