JOIN USThe Congress and the BJP sparred over the issue of "powering" India as the government patted its back for having provided electricity access to every village in the country, thereby fulfilling a key promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The prime minister himself said on Twitter that April 28 would be remembered as a historic day in the development of India as the government on Saturday fulfilled a commitment due to which the lives of several Indians will be transformed forever.
"I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity. I salute the efforts of all those who worked tirelessly on the ground, including the team of officials, the technical staff and all others, to make this dream of a powerful India a reality. Their efforts today will help generations of Indians in the coming years," Modi said.
Ever since Modi came to power at the Centre, he has been attacking the Congress for keeping a number of villages in the dark and had during his Independence Day speech in 2015 announced that he would ensure that power reaches the remaining 18,452 villages in 1,000 days.
BJP president Amit Shah retweeted Modi's posts also posted the link of a story which says all villages in the country have now been electrified and sought to contrast it saying the Congress is "mourning" the loss of power for one family.
"Today, the entire nation is celebrating power for every single village while the Congress is mourning the loss of power for one family. Before their rally, I hope Congress leaders read this, " he said referring to the link.
Cong hits back
The Congress was quick to debunk the power claims of the BJP and the government and said that it was their party which connected 97% of 6,49,867 villages with electricity.
"In 60 years, the Congress' average is electrifying 10,000 per year. The Congress created powerful India but did not boast," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
Asking why the BJP government took 46 months to complete electrification in only 18,452 villages at an average of 4,813 villages per year, Surjewala said, "This is celebrating inefficiencies and taking fake credit for Congress work".