Withdraw Power Tariff Hike In AP: YSRCP

The YSR Congress party today slammed the Kiran Kumar Reddy Government for imposing additional financial burden on the people through increase of power tariff and asked it to withdraw the hike immediately.

Addressing media persons here, party spokesman Janak Prasad came down heavily on the Government for increasing the electricity charges by Re.1.32 per unit and warned it would face the wrath of the people if the hefty hike is not withdrawn immediately.

While there was no increase of power tariff during the six-years of YSR regime, Kiran Kumar government has been increasing the power tariff every three months like his predecessor Rosaiah,” he charged, adding that the government has been subjecting people to additional financial suffering by imposing a total burden of Rs. 1740 Cr for the first quarter of the financial year 2012-13 in the name of fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA).

He said that the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) has become "toothless and gum-less" in the hands of the government which is using it only for hiking charges. “The government’s mindless decisions will bring financial problems to the tenants who stay in rented houses,” Janak Prasad observed.

He reminded the government that TDP had lost the elections in 2004 and 2009 for its anti-people decisions and the same fate will befall the Congress government too in the next elections.

TDP is the main opposition in our state, and generally the opposition party should win at least some seats in the by-elections because of the anti-incumbency factor. But the TDP failed to win even a single seat in the by-elections held after 2009, he said. “Such was the opposition the TDP has been facing from people for its anti-people decisions,” he observed.

Janak Prasad also lambasted the government for being silent on the losses suffered by farmers due to incessant rains in the last four days. While all the crops in 2 lakh acres have been destroyed, crops in 5 lakh acres have been partially affected due to the rains, but no minister has visited the affected areas till now, he said.

Janak Prasad said the government has cheated people by supplying gas to Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagopal’s commercial power plant and not to his ordinary power plant. “If the government had decided to supply gas to its ordinary unit, power could have been purchased from his company for only Rs. 2.20 per unit, but now the government will have to pay rates of Rs. 5.40 per unit,” he said criticising the government.

Janak Prasad decried Naidu’s stance saying that the TDP chief has limited himself to criticizing the Kiran Kumar Government for its percieved failures. “He should move a no-confidence motion against the government or else announce openly that he has decided to support the government as a quid pro quo for removing cases against him,” he said. (INN)