KKR Government In Commercial Mode: YSRCP

The YSR Congress party has alleged that the governance in the State has shifted from welfare form to a commercial mode by heavily taxing the people during the past three years and the Congress government would have to pay a heavy price at the hustings.

“During the past three years, the Congress government has netted Rs. 30,000 crores by increasing power tariff, RTC bus charges and withdrawing subsidies on cooking gas and the situation is reminiscent to that of the nine-year TDP-rule which was drubbed in 2004 and 2009,” YSRCP spokesperson Janak Prasad told media here on Friday.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is following the footsteps of N Chandrababu Naidu and has been passing on the burden to the people by increasing fares and cutting down subsidies and his style of functioning is that of running a commercial enterprise and not a welfare government.

“YSR has infused welfare into all schemes and provided the needed cushion in the form of subsidies while Kiran Kumar Reddy is toeing Chandrababu Naidu line and the over-burdened people will reject Congress as they did it to TDP,” he said.

The state has made it clear that service charge on free power running up to Rs 216 crores will be collected from the farmers or their equipment will be confiscated. This reminds of Naidu’s special courts and jails for default famers and TDP’s eventual defeat, he said.

Power charges were hiked to nett Rs 1,570 crores and in the form of fuel adjustment surcharge for second quarter of 2012 people will be burdened by another 1,000 crores, he said adding that figures under Deepam scheme, eligible for gas subsidy are being manipulated to save Rs 180 crores, burdening the 1.80-crore consumers.

“YSR on the other hand did not pass on the burden to consumers when the Centre increased the gas price by Rs 50. He provided the cushion and gave concession. Governance then was in the wrap of welfare and now it has taken the commercial path by taxing the people heavily,” he said adding that YSR Congress will take up people’s cause and fight it out.

RTC during the past three years has collected Rs 1,700 crores in the form of service charges and has commercialised its operations and has been levying variable fare instead of fixed charges. While Naidu brought RTC to a near closure, YSR had sanctioned Rs 480-crore grant to save the institution which is now back in the red to a tune of Rs 4,800 crores though the services are used by over 45-crore commuters, he said. (INN)