'Now, Congress cheated Karnataka too': BJP slams Siddaramaiah for Rs 2.89 per unit hike in power tariff

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday attacked the Congress government in Karnataka for hiking the power tariff for consumers using over 200 units of electricity. In the run-up to the election, the Congress had promised free power of 200 units to all. On Monday, the Karnataka government of Siddaramaiah rolled out the scheme making 200 units free for domestic consumers.

However, Times Now reported that the state government had hiked Rs 2.89 per unit for consumers using over 200 units. Now, the Congress government has come under fire from the BJP, which had been saying that the promise made by the Congress was not easy to fulfill.  

BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya on Tuesday targeted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah saying he had come up with a convoluted formula to exclude most of the people and not only that he had also hiked the power tariff.  

"Siddaramaiah Govt has come up with a convoluted formula to exclude most: average of last 12 months + 10% top up," Amit Malviya said in a long post on Twitter. "So, if you go above that but are still below 200 units, you have to pay. The promise of 200 free electricity units thus stands WITHDRAWN."

To make it worse, he said, arrears till July 2023 have to be borne by individuals. "As if all this chicanery wasn’t enough, here is the BLOW. Forget free electricity, Congress Govt has increased power tariff in Karnataka, with immediate effect."

The BJP leader said that the government has hiked power bills for Bescom (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited) consumers by Rs 2.89 per unit while tariffs across categories have been raised by 70 paise per unit.

"Congress is a FRAUD. Anything Rahul Gandhi or their leaders promise is not even worth trash," Malviya said, adding the party didn't fulfill any promise made either in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan or Himachal Pradesh. "Now Karnataka has been cheated too."

BJP's MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya called the move a "betrayal" and said cross-subsidization model will not work in the long run. "Congress' latest betrayal - After promising 200 units of free electricity, CM Sri @siddaramaiah has hiked the price of one unit of electricity by Rs 2.89. Their cross-subsidization model will not work in the long run & will only make the cost of living dearer for citizens."
 
The Siddaramaiah government on Monday rolled out the 'Gruha Jyoti' free electricity scheme, which will be effective from July 1. According to the order, the scheme will be applicable only for domestic use and not commercial connections. Under the scheme, the government will take into account the one-year average power consumption in 2022-23 financial year and will give free electricity up to 10 per cent more than the average usage.

If a consumer uses about 150 units of electricity a month on average, s/he can get free power up to 165 units of power. If the limit is exceeded, then the person will have to pay for the rest of the units consumed, which will be the net power consumption. However, if the usage exceeds 200 units of power, the consumer will have to pay the full amount of the electricity bill. 

(With inputs from PTI)

Also watch: Chef Vikas Khanna generates AI pic of Mona Lisa eating Indian food, ‘doli ki roti’. All about the top chef and India’s culinary arts museum he curated