Modi bought power from private firms at higher rates: Rahul

New Delhi Dec 1 (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of reducing the power generation capacity of government-owned power firms between 2012-16 while buying electricity from private players at a much higher rate.

Keeping up at his 22 questions in the countdown to the Gujarat Assembly polls as promised Gandhi said: "22 salon ka hisaab Gujarat mange jawaab. Gujarat ke haalat par Pradhanmantri Narendra Modi se tisra sawal (as he directed his third query at Modi on Gujarat s condition).

"Between 2012-16 why did you fill the pockets of four private companies by buying electricity worth Rs 62 549 crore?

"You reduced the capacity of government-owned power companies by 62 per cent and then bought electricity from the private companies for Rs 24 which was available for Rs 3?

"Why did you waste people s hard-earned money " he asked.

Gandhi s question comes in the wake of the party s strategy to pose one question to Modi everyday till the polls kick off in Gujarat.

On Thursday Gandhi hit out at the Prime Minister for Gujarat s rising debt of "Rs 2 41 000 crore" which he said was due to Modi s "mismanagement and publicity". He asked why the people of the state should be punished for it.

On Wednesday the Congress scion asked about Modi s 2012 promise of providing 50 lakh new homes to the people of the state.

Gujarat has been under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-rule for over two decades.

Polling for the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting of votes will take place on December 18.

--IANS
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