00:00But let's move on now to news from Tamil Nadu.
00:02A power outage of one of Tamil Nadu's most prominent temples,
00:05the Madhuri Meenakshi Temple,
00:07has snowballed into a full-blown political controversy.
00:10And that's because EPS was at the temple when there was a power cut.
00:13He's targeted the Vijay government
00:15and has questioned if this is the state of affairs in Tamil Nadu.
00:19It's not the first time this has happened.
00:20There have been multiple incidents of VIPs,
00:23of opposition leaders, of even ministers,
00:25visiting spots, going for a press conference,
00:28and power getting cut.
00:30So the TVK is facing fire and flak over this.
00:33Guess how the TVK has chosen to respond?
00:35The power minister has actually raised suspicions
00:37of deliberate outages during VIP visits,
00:41suggesting that there's a conspiracy, that there's foul play.
00:44All of it, he says, to defame the TVK government.
00:48Now, there is a power crisis in the state.
00:50There's no doubt about it.
00:51But the politics now is also taking centre stage.
00:57A temple in darkness,
00:58a government under fire,
01:00and now a minister crying foul.
01:03AIADMK chief Edapaddi Palani Swami's visit
01:06to Madurai's Meenakshi Amman temple
01:08took an unexpected turn when the lights went out.
01:12EPS has claimed that under the Vijay government,
01:14people can't even live peacefully,
01:16let alone pray peacefully.
01:42But the power minister's response has added a whole new twist to the Rao.
01:46Nirmal Kumar has said that the outage lasted just seven to eight minutes,
01:50caused by a generator changeover and a communication gap.
01:53He insists that this is not a statewide power crisis.
02:10But then came the bombshell.
02:12The minister himself has now alleged that power is being deliberately cut in select places
02:17when VIPs or ministers arrive,
02:19hinting at a possible foul play within the department.
02:34So, a seven to eight minute power cut has triggered questions that go far beyond one temple.
02:40Remember, Tamil Nadu's power demand has surged to a record 21,700 megawatts,
02:46marking a 30% jump year-on-year as soaring temperatures drive up electricity consumption.
02:51With wind generation and central power supply falling short,
02:54the state has been forced to buy short-term power at a steep 32 to 37 rupees per unit.
03:01For now, the lights may be back on,
03:03but the questions over Tamil Nadu's power supply and the politics surrounding it are far from over.
03:08With Anagar Kesaf, Bureau Report, India Today.
