Amid ongoing spat over power cuts, Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood on Tuesday charged Leader of Opposition Atishi and AAP leaders for misleading people and trying to create unrest. The Power Minister warned of strict legal action against those allegedly spreading misinformation about power outages in the city. He claimed that AAP leaders including Leader of Opposition Atishi, Arvind Kejriwal and others are misleading people with fake data including social media and fabricating narratives to incite unrest.
Sood remarks came amid a political tussle between the ruling BJP and the opposition AAP over claims of disruptions in electricity supply. He was replying to the Calling Attention Motion moved by the AAP leaders-Kuldeep Kumar and Sanjiv Jha requesting a discussion on the alleged power cuts affecting several areas in the city. Earlier, AAP leaders Atishi, Arvind Kejriwal and several others tweeted on X on power cuts in some areas in Delhi. Sood has claimed that AAP leaders are using fake social media accounts to create unrest here.
“We will take strict action against such fake accounts and the people who support these accounts. We will take criminal action, not civil, against the culprits,” Sood said. He further revealed that AAP leaders were using bot accounts, some with barely 4-5 followers, to falsely claim that power outages were non-existent under their government but are now prolonged. Contrary to their claims, Delhi experienced power cuts exceeding one hour 21,597 times under their tenure last year.
The Minister also provided statistical evidence, stating that over the last 10 years, power cuts occurred 2,72,137 times, averaging 75 outages per day. He criticised Atishi Marlena’s tweet about power failure in her home and highlighted that a written response had already been provided on March 24, 2025. The response detailed that from February 9, 2025, to March 16, 2025, there were 2,092 outages under the current government, whereas during the same period in the previous year, 3,881 outages occurred. Unable to digest these facts, the opposition walked out, leaving only empty benches behind.
Sood asserted that the outages were part of routine maintenance to ensure the reliability of power grids ahead of summer. “We are a 40-day-old government, yet they claim we have disrupted a system that was perfect for the past 10 years. There is no electricity crisis,” he said, adding that the power cuts are due to the maintenance of equipment, a process that happens every year.
He further accused AAP, including Leader of Opposition Atishi, of spreading “false narratives” on social media using fake accounts and bots. “The opposition is trying to create disorder in the city through misinformation,” he added. Sood presented data on power outages in Delhi, claiming that since the BJP government took charge, there has been fewer outages at Atishi’s residence compared to other areas. “Over the past 10 years, there were 2,72,137 power cuts in Delhi lasting over an hour, averaging 75 times per day. No one can refute this data,” he said.
However, MLA Kumar was absent during the minister’s response as all AAP MLAs had staged a walkout.Taking a serious note, Speaker Vijender Gupta directed that photographs of the vacant opposition benches be shared with the media to expose their inability to reveal the truth to public. Sood also revealed that Atishi’s residence is supplied by two separate feeders, yet she misleadingly tweeted about power failures. Records indicate that power outages at her residence were not unprecedented. In the past six months, power cuts were recorded as 57.48 minutes on May 11. 2024, 29.56 minutes on May 3, 2024, 29.50 minuters on Mary 30, 2024, 23.51 minutes on July 18, 2024, and 22.20 minutes on July 19 2024.
He challenged opposition leaders to any public forum where he could prove with facts that Delhi’s power supply has significantly improved under the current administration.
Holding the ruling BJP responsible for the power outages, Atishi claimed that areas such as Narela, Bawana, Rohini, Najafgarh, Karawal Nagar, and New Delhi, among others, are facing prolonged outages. Complaints of power cuts have also been surfacing on social media from Chhatarpur, Burari, Delhi University and several other parts of the city.
“For the past month, social media has been flooded with complaints about power cuts. Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party government provided uninterrupted 24-hour electricity to the people of Delhi for the past 10 years, without any power cuts. However, ever since the BJP took over, power supply in the city has been severely disrupted,” Atishi said.
Earlier in the day, AAP MLAs submitted notices to the Delhi Assembly secretary, requesting a discussion on the alleged power cuts affecting several areas in the city. AAPMLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar wrote separate letters to the Delhi Power Minister Ashish Sood, highlighting prolonged outages and urging the government to address the issue. Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha called attention to a power outage in Jagatpur village in his assembly constituency on March 28, affecting households, businesses, and essential services.
“Despite complaints, no immediate resolution was provided. I urge the Minister of Power to provide a detailed explanation and outline immediate steps to prevent such occurrences in the future,” Jha wrote, invoking Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Legislative Assembly. Meanwhile, MLA Kuldeep Kumar called for an adjournment motion under Rule 59 to discuss the issue in the Assembly. “These outages have caused severe inconvenience to residents, disrupted businesses, and hampered essential services. The situation demands immediate attention and a thorough response from the government,” Kumar stated.
Moments after the AAP MLAs walked out from the House over power outages, Speaker Vijender Gupta condemned the AAP MLA and warned Kumar about his future conduct, while some BJP MLAs demanded action against him, saying that it was quite surprising that when the matter was taken up for consideration in the House, no member of the opposition was present in the House. Speaker Gupta said that this conduct of the opposition was completely irresponsible. The House functions according to legislative procedures and rules, and it is inappropriate for the entire opposition to be absent during the discussion of a topic that was included in the agenda at their own request.
“It proves that they are not serious about democratic processes and values. Opposition members often raise issues just to gain media attention, but when it comes to actual discussion, they choose to walk out of the House,” Gupta said in a statement.
