Vijay govt's power purchase from Pvt producers at Rs 35 per unit raises a stink: Minister defends, Oppn cries foul, alleges corruption

Chennai, Oct 13 (UNI) With Tamil Nadu reeling under frequent power cuts, the Vijay government's plan to purchase 4500 MW of electricity at an exorbitant rate of Rs 35 per unit from private power producers has given the opposition a handle, which cried foul over the deal on Tuesday, even as Electricity Minister CTR.Nirmal Kumar defended it citing peak demand driven by El Nino effect. Alleging corruption, the principal opposition DMK, AIADMK, PMK and others launched a scathing attack on the government for resorting to purchase from private producers rather than taking steps to augment power generation by accelerating pending…