Two weeks after asking Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to cut the power tariff in Mumbai, Congress MPs Sanjay Nirupam and Priya Dutt on Monday led a protest march at Reliance Energy’s office here with the demand.
“We demand that the unjust power tariff in Mumbai should be scrapped as soon as possible. Our agitation against the company will continue till we get justice,” said Mr. Nirupam in a protest march that was attended by all Congress MLAs and corporators from North Mumbai. Following the meeting of delegation with the officers from Reliance Energy, the protest has been called off for five days.
Mr. Nirupam on Saturday had written a letter to Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Infrastructure of which Reliance Energy is a part, asking him to be present at the protest march to address the public about his company’s stand.
Ms. Dutt who is a Congress MP from the neighbouring constituency echoed the similar views. She demanded that uniform tariff pattern should be implemented across Mumbai city and suburbs. “The agitation will spread to different parts of the city if the tariff is not lowered,” she said.
Earlier, the Mumbai Police tried to stop Congress workers from going near to the Reliance Energy’s office by putting barricades, which resulted in minor scuffle between the two sides.
Following the decision taken by Delhi government to cut power tariff by 50%, Mr. Nirupam had written a letter to Maharashtra CM seeking similar action in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government has already set up a committee headed by Industries Minister Narayan Rane, which has suggested 10 to 20% cut in power tariff across the state. The decision will be implemented after it is cleared by the state cabinet.
