Power cut at event to list Centre’s 12-year achievements leaves Rajasthan govt red-faced
Railways Minister Vaishnaw was among attendees; state energy minister says investigation ordered, strict action will be taken against officials found responsible
The Rajasthan government has ordered an inquiry into a 15-minute power cut that disrupted a Jaipur press conference held by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to highlight the Modi government's achievements. (File)
A day after a power cut during a press conference by Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the party’s state office in Jaipur, the Rajasthan government ordered an inquiry on Friday.
Heeralal Nagar, Rajasthan’s Minister of State for Energy (independent charge), said an investigation will be conducted, and strict action will be taken.
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The press conference was called to highlight the 12 years of the Narendra Modi government, coinciding with the celebrations following a record of 4,399 days of “continuous service as an elected PM.” However, there was a power cut lasting about 15 minutes while Vaishnaw and others were highlighting the Centre’s achievements. Apart from Vaishnaw and Nagar, BJP state president Madan Rathore was also present.
Department officials on Friday said that the minister sought detailed information from officials of the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (RVPN) and Jaipur Discom.
Officials said that at 3:57 pm on Thursday, there was a gas leak in a circuit breaker of a power line. During work to address this, two transformers tripped, affecting power supply.
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Officials said power was restored in less than 20 minutes by connecting to other available transformers, and both affected transformers were restored to normal operation at 4:21 pm.
Energy Minister Nagar said that an inquiry committee has been formed to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident.
It will determine the causes and provide necessary recommendations to prevent future tripping incidents. Nagar said that any engineer or officer found responsible will face strict action.
He said it is the state government’s priority to make the power supply system more reliable, and any negligence will not be tolerated.
“They’ve cut countless ribbons of others’ works, but when it was time to give their own account, the electricity just went out,” he said.
With Vaishnaw making comparisons with the UPA government, Jully said, “They had set out to make comparisons, and the electricity couldn’t help but ask: ‘You’ve taken plenty of credit for Congress’s achievements, but what have you built of your own in 12 years? Only tell us that’.”
“As netaji was telling lies, even the electricity couldn’t tolerate it and went out,” Jully said.
The Rajasthan government has ordered an inquiry into a 15-minute power cut that disrupted a Jaipur press conference held by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to highlight the Modi government's achievements. (File) 
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