Bengaluru: Opposition continues to pour in against PM Modi’s light-a-diya campaign to take place at 9 pm for 9 minutes tonight (April 5). 

While former Karnataka former CM HD Kumaraswamy asked PM Modi to give a scientific and rational explanation behind the move, the Congress too has not left any stone unturned.

Also Read: HD Kumaraswamy questions PM Modi over his campaign

Senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor joined the ranks of criticisers. 

But Haryana cabinet minister Anil Vij did not minced words in criticising the Congress for its move to take a dig at Modi for the campaign. 

He drew the attention of the Congress to the fact that Italians were uniting to show solidarity via clapping and lighting lamps for the Coronavirus frontliners, the 'son & daughter' of the Congress president were opposing the gesture. Further, the minister said that the Congress was playing petty politics even at the time of an emergency such as the coronavirus pandemic.

 

In his tweet, Rahul Gandhi stated that the PM's suggestion to clap handles or shine torches won't solve India's problem. Gandhi also reiterated that India is not testing enough among COVID-19 cases, compared to South Korea, Italy, Germany. In its reply, ICMR has stated that India has currently tested up to 66,000 samples till April 2 using 30% of the country's capacity.

There are also allegations that the power grid will collapse as the 9-minute campaign kicks in as there will be a drop in demand and a sudden surge in demand. 

Managing grid during light-a-diya campaign:

To manage the dramatic changes in electricity and its impact on the grid, the government has drawn an elaborate plan to manage it. Following are the broad plan of action.

Electrical appliances such as AC, fans, TVs, refrigerators are not supposed to be switched off and only household lights are to be switched off from 9 pm to 9.09 pm on Sunday.

Also, lights in all essential services, including hospitals, police stations and manufacturing facilities as well as street lights are not to be switched off.