Sood claimed power in the said area was restored 10 hours before Kejriwal’s tweet.
NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been actively using social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), to criticize and tarnish the image of the newly formed Delhi government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over recent power cuts. Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood, told The Sunday Guardian, over the phone. Sood accused Arvind Kejriwal and his party of making false allegations online. He asserted that AAP’s claims on social media do not align with actual data regarding Delhi’s power supply and are merely an attempt to damage the reputation of the BJP-led administration.
The minister stated that Kejriwal is tweeting misleading information due to the fear of missing out on public discourse. He remarked that no AAP politician had defended their government during the budget session
Sood further pointed out that Kejriwal was in Punjab with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and had no significant political engagements there, which led him to tweet about power cuts in Delhi at 8:25 a.m. However, the reality, Sood claimed, was that electricity had already been restored in Jagatpur Extension nearly 10 hours before Kejriwal’s tweet. The outage had been caused by a local accident in the neighborhood and was not indicative of a larger power crisis.
During the interaction with The Sunday Guardian, Sood also shared data regarding power outages in Delhi during Kejriwal’s tenure as Chief Minister. He stated that in the last year alone, Delhi experienced a total of 21,597 power cuts lasting one hour or more, averaging 59 outages per day. The minister presented further statistics on power failures, highlighting that in January 2025 alone, there were 3,278 reported incidents of power cuts.
He emphasized that these figures expose Kejriwal’s false claims and reaffirm that AAP’s narrative on power supply issues is not supported by real data but is instead an effort to malign the BJP government’s image.
Additionally, Sood criticized Kejriwal for his lack of administrative experience, arguing that if he had ever managed a government department, he would have a better understanding of the ground realities. Presenting detailed statistical data, the minister pointed out that under the previous AAP government, Delhi faced significant power outages each month, with instances of cuts lasting over an hour. The data revealed 2,660 power cuts in January 2024, 2,881 in February, 2,745 in March, 1,567 in April, 676 in May, 605 in June, 602 in July, 690 in August, 1,531 in September, 1,852 in October, 1,000 in November, 1,510 in December, and 3,278 outages in January 2025.
Sood also shared power cut records from the past decade, claiming that Kejriwal, having never been actively involved in departmental administration, lacks awareness of the true electricity situation in Delhi. He accused Kejriwal’s close aides of withholding crucial information from him, leading to his misleading and uninformed public statements.
Notably, Earlier this week, a power outage in Jagatpur Extension led AAP to accuse the newly formed BJP-led Delhi government of mismanagement.
AAP claimed that in just 1.5 months, the BJP had worsened Delhi’s power situation, while the Kejriwal-led government had ensured uninterrupted electricity for a decade, even during peak demand in 2024. The party criticized BJP’s alleged plans to raise power tariffs despite widespread protests over outages in several areas.
In response, Delhi’s Power Minister dismissed AAP’s claims, stating that the Jagatpur outage was minor and had already been resolved. He highlighted the government’s efforts to review DISCOMs’ preparedness, reassess power purchase agreements, and establish a 24×7 control room for monitoring electricity supply. He also mentioned seeking the Centre’s approval to procure additional electricity if needed. Sood refuted Kejriwal’s claims of no power cuts during his tenure, citing SLDC data, and accused AAP of fear-mongering for political gains. He emphasized that planned outages for maintenance are a routine part of both summer and winter action plans.