Power politics -- UP minister wants CBI to probe his senior

Power politics -- UP minister wants CBI to probe his senior
AMIT SHARMA

LUCKNOW, JANAUARY 4: The failure of the Northern Grid this week has put the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh in a tightspot.

A row has broken out between the state Minister of State for Energy Vivek Kumar Singh and his cabinet minister, Naresh Aggarwal, who happens to be the Loktantrik Congress Party leader, after the former alleging that large scale bungling in laying of transmission lines is the reason for the collapse of the grid failure.

Vivek, who has demanded a CBI probe, has alleged corruption in the laying of the 800 kms long Anpara-Unnao transmission lines by Hyundai and that the engineer who raised the issue was transferred. ``I am sending all details of bunglings in transmission lines for your attention with the hope that you will forward it to the Centre for a CBI probe so that such situation or even worse cannot crop up in future,'' the minister wrote to the chief minister.

Agarwal has issued a statement in Dehra Dun and tried to make light of the allegations claiming that the issue has already been probed. ``He should comeout with fresh details if he has any and we are ready for probe by anyagency,'' Naresh said.

Vivek has sent a five page letter to Aggarwal citing several examples which highlighted large scale bunglings in the electricity department and held these factors as responsible for the grid failure. ``This was because of low quality laying of transmission lines that seven states of the country had to remain powerless for several hours,'' he said in the letter.

The grid failed in wee hours on January 2 plunging many northern states into darkness and the Centre has ordered a probe while state government has also instituted an inquiry into the causes leading to failure.