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BJP did not consult us before cancelling free power supply to farmers, charges Jaya

All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha, a leading light of the ruling coalition at the Centre, today charged the Bharatiya Janata Party with not consulting its coalition partners before announcing the ordinance discontinuing free power supply to farmers.

In a statement in Madras, she said the BJP should have held talks with its coalition partners before taking the decision which affected Tamil Nadu's farmers.

"We came to know about the ordinance, which envisages setting up of central and state electricity regulatory commissions, only through newspapers," she said, and added that "the ordinance is not agreeable to us."

Asserting that the AIADMK stood for continuation of the free power supply scheme for farmers, she said the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was trying to spread panic among farmers about the alleged discontinuance of the scheme to cover up the poor power supply situation in rural areas.

Referring to the charge made by G K Moopanar, president of the Tamil Maanila Congress, an ally of the ruling DMK, that state Electricity Minister Arcot N Veerasamy was ignorant about the poor power supply situation in rural areas, she said this showed the state government's negligent attitude towards farmers.

UNI

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