Grid collapse: CM, not state chief secretary, to blame, says Amarinder Singh

New Delhi: Union Power Minister Veerappa Moily on Monday came under fire from Congress colleague and former Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh for his suggestion to imprison the chief secretaries of states that overdrew power from the power grids.

He said, "I differ with Moily on this issue. I think Moily wants somebody to take the responsibility for all these things. I think it is the government after all... People vote for the government. The Chief Minister is responsible for the whole state. If something goes wrong with the state, how can I say the state chief secretary is responsible for that? Then what is the CM doing there?"

He added, "That's why I think the responsibility should be of the CM. The secretary is working under the CM. The CM gives instructions. That is the way it should go. If the chief secretary is supposed to run the state, then why would you have CM?"

Power Minister Veerappa Moily has come under fire from former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh for suggesting imprisonment of state chief secretaries.

Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate, Moily had said that he was considering imposing heavy fines and even imprisoning the chief secretaries of states that continued to overdrew power.

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