Q. You promised free power before elections. Why are you having second thoughts now?
A. That's because this freebie has taken Punjab down the ladder. The state electricity board has a cumulative loss of Rs 2,500 crore this year.

Q. Did Sonia Gandhi tell you to roll back the scheme?
A. She said power reforms were needed. Even if she hadn't, no responsible chief minister can be blind to reality.

Q. So will you go back on your pre-poll promises?
A. Free power facility is not populism for the small farmers. Punjab is not a land of landlords.

Q. How would you strike a balance between populist promises and reforms?
A. We will be ploughing a middle path. We are still groping for the right prescription.

Q. But you knew of the precarious health of the board before the elections.
A. I learnt the situation was serious only after coming to power.

Q. When will you unveil your reforms package?
A. Anytime before the budget session in June-end.

Q. Won't you be risking unpopularity then?
A. I have been voted to power, not to some popularity contest.

Q. The Shiromani Akali Dal has threatened an agitation if you go back on your word.
A. I'm not scared. Farmers understand they need continuous power not free power.

-Ramesh Vinayak

TREMORS Fate of Political Acronyms
	SITA: Sonia is the Alternative. Well, after Guwahati, it's a trifle more likely than anti-Congress types may want.
	TINA: There is No Alternative looks iffy. Given the Opposition's in a proverbial huddle and the TDP shirty, it should.
	MISTY: Mayawati is Sitting Pretty. It's a new one but fairly apt after the BSP-BJP deal in Uttar Pradesh.
	VITAMIN: V. (P. Singh)'s is the Alternative Ministry. Now seems about as real as the tooth fairy.