Terming the power tariff hike as unwarranted and unacceptable, Akbar Owaisi demanded that the government immediately withdraw the tariff hike, and double the subsidy for the power sector.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi condemned the latest power tariff hike in the state.
Terming the power tariff hike as totally unwarranted and unacceptable, Akbar Owaisi demanded that the state government immediately withdraw the tariff hike, and double the subsidy for the power sector in the state.
In a statementto the press, the AIMIM floor leader decried the ruling Congress for burdening the people with frequent hikes in Value-Added Tax (VAT), Motor Vehicle (MV) Tax, and other state taxes, market values of lands and properties, bus fares and power tariffs. The Central government was resorting to hikes in railway fares and petrol, diesel and LPG prices. The common man is already groaning under the impact of the steep hike in the prices of all essential commodities, he said.
Akbaruddin Owaisi said that the unprecedented price rise, as well as the hike in taxes, bus fares and power tariffs had a negative impact on the poorer sections and the middle classes. "Adding to their woes are the power cuts, which are making the lives of the people miserable during the peak summer months. The government has admitted that the power crisis gripping the state is the worst-ever in the last 30 years. Power consumers, who are subjected to power cuts for longer durations, are made to pay their hefty power bills," he said.
"Where is the promise of the Congress to ensure uninterrupted and affordable power supply?" the MIM leader asked. The Congress will have to pay the price for its anti-people measures in the forthcoming panchayat raj and municipal polls as well as in the next elections to the State Assembly and Lok Sabha, he warned.
Akbaruddin Owaisi pointed out that the Congress government in the state displayed scant regard to the demand of all the opposition parties, and also ignored the hue-and-cry of the hapless citizens of the state to keep the power tariff hike on hold. "As a result, power tariffs have been hiked for all categories of consumers, barring the poorest of the poor and the farming community, from the new financial year, 2013-14," he said.
The MIM leader said that this was yet another breach of promise by the ruling party which, at the time of the Assembly polls in 2009, had assured in its election manifesto that the people would not be burdened with power tariffs for five years (2009-15). The present Chief Minister shows no remorse for going back on this promise of his predecessor Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, he derided.
Akbaruddin Owaisi said that the power consumers in the state could not bear the additional burden of tariff hikes and FSA charges any more. In this backdrop, the AIMIM demands the government to roll back the latest power tariff hike. "Our party also demands the government to raise the quantum of subsidy on the power sector in proportion to the size of the State Budget. For the financial year of 2013-14, the government should double the power subsidy from the budgeted Rs. 5,700 crore to Rs. 11,400 crore. This will help the Discoms financially, and the consumers would be spared the burden of yet another tariff hike and FSA burden," he advised. (INN)