Nagpur, Feb 5 (PTI) Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut on Friday said the BJP's 'halla bol' agitation over power bills got a lukewarm response from the public as some 79 per cent of consumers in the state have already paid up.

Addressing a press conference here, Raut said the BJP should carry out agitations against the continuous hikes in fuel prices rather than mislead people about power bills.

"The people of Maharashtra have come forward and so far cleared 79 per cent of pending power bills, which was more than 71,000 crore till December last year," Raut informed.

He alleged the BJP intends to privatise Mahavitaran, the distribution arm of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, and that is why it had started protests claiming the bills sent to consumers were inflated.

Raut said Mahavitaran had supplied electricity uninterrupted in the state during the coronavirus outbreak and appealed to people to pay their bills in time.

The BJP's 'halla bol' agitation on Friday was led by former state energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule in Nagpur.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)