BJP To Protest Against Power Fuel Surcharge

The Bharatiya Janata Party will launch a two-day statewide protest from November 19 against the imposition of Fuel Surcharge on power consumers.

Addressing a press conference at party office at Nampally, BJP senior leader Bandaru Dattatreyya said that the protests would be held in all assembly constituencies in the State. He said that the state government has put an additional burden of Rs. 13,000 crore on the consumers by way of surcharge.

Dattatreyya alleged that the Congress government was providing benefits to private companies by purchasing power at higher rates to take kickbacks from them. He said that while the government was buying power from private companies like East Coast Company in Srikakulam and Hindujas in Visakhapatnam at Rs 7.90 per unit, it was purchasing power from Public Sector companies like APGENO at Rs 1.90 per unit. By favouring private sector for kickbacks the Congress government is burdening the common man, he alleged.

Dattatreyya also announced that the party would conduct mandal-level protests across the state against FDI and corruption on November 21 and 22. He also ridiculed the appointment of Rahul Gandhi as Congress incharge for next elections. He said that Rahul had proved his failures in Uttar Pradesh and other states, and the hollowness of his leadership skills would get exposed further in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls. He said that after Rahul's appointment, the conditions of 1998 would be revived and the BJP would again cmoe to power at the Centre during next elections.

The BJP leader also informed that former union minister Murali Manohar Jooshi will participate in the round table conference on FDI and corruption to be held at Jubilee Hall on Saturday at 3 pm. (INN)