A day after Electricity Minister V. Senthilbalaji announced the government’s move to hike the electricity tariff, the AIADMK on Tuesday announced that it would hold demonstrations across the State on July 25 to protest against the proposed hike and highlight other issues, including the increase in property tax.
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In a statement, AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami said the DMK regime, which proudly stated at the time of this year’s Budget that it had presented a taxless Budget, was now effecting one hike after another. Inflation, deterioration in law and order and non-implementation of assurances by the DMK government would be the issues the AIADMK would focus on during the agitation.
The deposed party coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, said in a series of tweets that the decision would cause hardship to the people, and appealed to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to drop the move.
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In a separate statement, the sidelined former interim general secretary of the AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala, called the decision ‘unpardonable’ as the people of the State had been reeling under the impact of inflation, property tax hike, unemployment and COVID-19. She wondered whether this was the ‘Dravida model’.
She ridiculed the government’s argument that Tamil Nadu’s power tariff would still be lower than that of other States, saying if at all any comparison had to be made, it had to be done in a holistic manner.
AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran, in a couple of tweets, criticised the State government for not making any announcement on the restoration of the monthly billing cycle despite having made an electoral assurance to this effect. The proposed hike would adversely hit the poor and the middle class, apart from micro, small and medium enterprises, he said.