(Dr Daljit S Cheema says Cong govt would still be taking Rs 3,791 crore more from consumers by reducing power tariff by Rs 3 instead of implementing the 800 units per bill cycle free power commitment of the SAD-BSP alliance)
(Says even PCC President Navjot Sidhu had exposed his own govt by stating it only wanted to befool the people two months prior to the elections)
Chandigarh, November 1 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today accused chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi of defrauding the people of Punjab by merely rolling back the 35 per cent hike in power tariff which had been affected during the Congress regime, even as it asserted the government would still be taking Rs 3,791 crore more from power consumers by reducing power tariff by Rs 3 per unit instead of implementing the 800 units per bill cycle free power commitment of the SAD-BSP alliance.
Addressing a press conference here, SAD Spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the two separate events at the Punjab Bhawan addressed by the chief minister and at the Congress Bhawan by Pradesh Congress President Navjot Sidhu were a testament to the real intentions of the Congress government. “Navjot Sidhu has exposed the Congress government by telling that it only wants to fool people during the last two months in office besides asking the government to specify from where it would come up with the money to honour its promise. The chief minister should clarify his stand to his own PCC chief if not to the opposition”.
Stating that the chief minister had also made it clear that he was resorting to an election stunt only, Dr Cheema said the CM announced that people would believe him only if they were able to get one subsidized bill during the remaining part of the Congress government. “This proves the intentions of this government to deceive the people into believing its promises when all of them lie unfulfilled”.
The SAD leader said the people should judge the Congress party by its past actions. He said the party had promised cheap power before ascending to power in 2017. “However during the last nearly five years it increased the power tariff by 35 per cent in nearly one dozen installments. This means the Congress government collected more revenue. However it has nothing to show for it. Government departments alone owe Rs 2,231 crores to PSPCL indicating that the additional revenue has been frittered away due to corruption and mismanagement”.
Speaking about the CM’s announcement today, Dr Cheema said it was clear that this was done to counter the SAD-BSP alliance promise to give 800 units per bill cycle free to power consumers. “If we compare this relief to that promised by Channi it is still Rs 3,791 crore less that the relief committed by SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal. If we calculate the total relief given to consumers by reducing 800 units per bill cycle from their bill they will get a relief of Rs 6,191 crore. However the doubtful relief announced by the Congress government comes to only Rs 2,400 crore”.
Dr Cheema also asked the chief minister to clarify how he proposed to implement his promise as the latest announcement had raised the subsidy bill to Rs 13,934 crores.
The SAD leader also asked the chief minister to take decision action regarding cancellation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) of private thermal companies. He said the cancellation of GVK’s PPA was irrelevant because the company had collapsed and had become a non performing asset. He said the government had promised to take administrative action by cancelling the other PPAs but the chief minister was now talking of taking the issue to the Vidhan Sabha. “The CM should not offer such excuses when it is in his ambit to take required decisions”, Dr Cheema added. EOM
Jangveer Singh
