Chandigarh, Sep 21 (PTI) Haryana Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala on Thursday rejected the Aam Aadmi Party's claims of regular outages in the state, saying if that was the case the BJP-ruled state would not have become an industrial hub.

The AAP recently launched a 'Bijli Andolan' in the state, targeting the Khattar government over alleged regular outages in Haryana.

Also Read | Special Session Called to Give ‘Good Start’ to New Parliament Building by Pushing Women’s Reservation Bill, Says FM Nirmala Sitharaman.

"The AAP talks of Bijli Andolan whereas the fact is that many Delhi industries have been shifting to Haryana. Several group housing societies have also come up in Panipat, Karnal, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh, Palwal, Manesar in recent times to meet the growing demand as more and more industries are setting bases in Haryana.

"Had there been irregular electricity supply, the industry, which cannot run without power, would not have flourished and Haryana would not have become an industrial hub," Ranjit Singh said here.

Also Read | Crypto Job Market Dips in India by 64.20% After Seeing Growth in Past Three Years: Report.

On the AAP's 'Bijli Andolan', he said every party in a democratic set up has the right to hold protests etc., but these cannot be on baseless grounds.

In Punjab, they cannot take care of their own industry and they make such baseless claims about Haryana, he said.

During the 'Bijli Andolan', Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and leaders visit villages and towns and apprise people about "costly power" and "regular outages". Party leaders said they tell people that free and round-the-clock electricity supply is possible in Haryana too if the AAP is voted to power in 2024 Assembly polls.

The minister said that electricity rates have not been increased in Haryana in the last nine years and this is despite the increase in the rates of coal, diesel etc. in the country and around the world.

Meanwhile, Ranjit Singh, who also holds the Jails department portfolio, said that after building a new jail in Bhiwani, new jails are going to be built in Charkhi Dadri, Fatehabad and Rohtak.

Apart from this, the Central Jail of Ambala will also be shifted outside of the city and land is being identified for the purpose.

At present, the capacity of jails in the state is about 21,500 and the number of inmates including undertrials is about 26,000, he said.

He reiterated that after the successful experiment of setting up a petrol pump on the land adjacent to Kurukshetra Jail, the government has now decided to set up fuel stations on the land adjacent to 11 more jails of the state

These petrol pumps will be set up by the Indian Oil Corporation, he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)