They also denied shortage of O2: Dy CM flays Centre on coal crisis

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday alleged that the Centre is not ready to accept that there is a coal crisis in the country and likened the situation to the oxygen crisis during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the Centre's policy to "turn a blind eye" to every problem could prove fatal for the country — also referring to the Centre's refusal to accept the shortage of medical oxygen during the second wave.

His remarks came after the coal ministry asserted that sufficient dry fuel is available in the country to meet the demand of electricity generating plants and dismissed as "entirely misplaced" any fear of disruption in power supply.

The power ministry also said the total despatch of coal from all sources on October 9 was 1.92 million tonnes (19.2 lakh tonnes) against the total consumption was 1.87 million tonnes (18.7 lakh tonnes).

"Union Power Minister R K Singh today said that there isn't any coal crisis and that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should not have written a letter to the prime minister on the issue. It is sad that a Union cabinet minister has adopted such an irresponsible approach," Sisodia said at a press conference here.

"They had done the same thing when the country grappled under an oxygen shortage. They would not even accept that there is a problem. They try to prove states wrong instead," Sisodia alleged.

The coal crisis can lead to a power crisis that could shut the entire system of the country. It can adversely impact industries, Sisodia said.

"With folded hands, I request the central government that please acknowledge this crisis. The Centre should show behaviour of cooperation and solve the coal crisis," he said.

Later in a statement, Sisodia claimed that governments of Delhi, Andhra Pradesh,

Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat are warning the Centre about the incoming crisis.

In fact, on Sunday evening, the Minister on Twitter pointed to a post by Uttar Pradesh's Power Minister mentioning the troubles being caused due to the coal crisis - asking the Union Power Minister to handle the situation.

"At this time the Centre, as a responsible government,

should accept that there is a coal crisis in the country, find a solution and not blame the state governments," he said in the statement.

Reacting to Sisodia's remarks, BJP's Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta alleged that the AAP government was misleading citizens on possible power cuts in Delhi in near future.