The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) staged a day-long protest against increase in the electricity charges, here on Tuesday.
Party State secretary P. Madhu asked the State government to review the hike in the power tariff, which was a huge burden on the common man. "Onus lies on the State government to give an explanation on the power tariff rather than bluffing the people," he said.
The State government should oppose the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 in Parliament to safeguard the interests of Andhra Pradesh brought out by the Central government. The Bill would harm the interests of the common man, and the proposals were a direct attack on the federal spirit of the Indian Constitution, he pointed out.
The amendments suggest that the power tariff should be fixed taking the ‘cost to serve’ into consideration. With this, it would not be possible for the State governments to implement the subsidy and cross subsidisation. It would not be possible to implement free power to about 16 lakh pumpsets in the State. It leads to suicides and hunger deaths. Against this background, the little respite to the farming community would not be possible, he said.
The CPI(M) leader said that the income of farmers, coolies, labourers and the poor have not increased despite the government implementing welfare schemes for a year now. The minimum wages of labourers was not revised. In view of the lockdown, the government should provide a financial assistance of ₹7,500 per month for a period of six months, he said.
CPI(M) State secretariat member Ch. Babu Rao said that the government should conduct an opinion poll on the power tariff as part of its ‘Mana palana mee suchana’ programme. The government proposes to distribute YSRCP manifesto to every house in the State commemorating one year in the office.
At the same time, the government was requested to pay attention to the common man’s plight. While every State was opposing the Electricity Amendment Bill, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy was silent. Also, the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) remained a mute spectator to Bill. The TDP adopted similar policies when it was at the helm of affairs, he said.
The CPI(M) vehemently opposed the policies and organised public agitations, which resulted in rollback of the power tariff. With the same spirit, the CPI(M) would hold public agitations against BJP-YSRCP policies, he said.
‘Welcome move’
Mr. Babu Rao, referring to ₹160 crore concessions to MSMEs, said it was a welcome move. Similarly, the government should waive the electricity bills in view of the lockdown due to coronavirus. The government should issue a statement opposing the Electricity Amendment Bill and disclose the details of power purchase agreements, he added.
