Senior TDP leader Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu has come down heavily on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for effecting a “hefty increase” in the power tariff.
In a video message released to the media on Thursday, Mr. Patrudu said the Chief Minister did not keep the promises he had made in the run-up to the elections.
Playing a campaign video in which Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy was seen criticising the TDP government for increasing the power tariff and promising not to resort to it if he was elected, the TDP leader said, “Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy has cheated the electorate.”
“The increase in power tariff will burden the poor by over ₹1,400 crore,” he said, and added that the common man would think twice before switching on the fan even during peak summer.
Petro prices
In the last three years, the YSRCP government had increased the power tariff eight times, Mr. Patrudu said, and added that “Andhra Pradesh leads the chart when it comes to prices of petrol and diesel as well.”
“The prices of essential commodities too have gone up, and there seems to be no end to the rise in the prices for iron, steel, sand and cement,” the TDP leader said.
He also criticised the government for imposing user charges on garbage collection.
“The Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission has reportedly said the increase in power tariff is necessary for the survival of the Discoms and the government, and that the people should make a sacrifice by paying more. But why should the people make any sacrifice after electing the YSRCP to power with lot of hopes?” he questioned.
Foreseeing a bleak future for the State, the TDP leader said the people would have to show the door to the YSRCP government in the next elections if the State was to progress.
