Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has termed the power reforms as nothing but privatising the power sector and handing it over to the corporates close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
About 40,000 MW power production set up is installed in the country but the Centre is deliberately not making the units operational so as to impose solar power being generated by those close to the BJP, he alleged.
He said though the draft copy of the power reforms had received opposition from several Chief Ministers the government is thrusting them on the states with financial threats and this was a clear violation of the Constitution. “States are being forced to buy solar power with the reforms when the policy should be a mix of energy generation methods suitable to the states,” he said.
Mr. Rao said Andhra Pradesh had already fixed 25,000 meters in Srikakulam district but he would not install power meters come what may and rued the financial restrictions imposed. Telangana is likely to lose ₹25,000 crore in the next five years due to the denial of relaxations on the FRBM limits if the meters were not fixed. “Reforms will bring in private discoms and they will pay havoc with the farmers and poor,” he alleged.
He accused the Prime Minister of lying to the people openly and played a video shot of Mr. Modi’s speech at the inauguration of Mission Bhagiratha. Mr. Modi in the video claimed that the Centre was distributing power to States at ₹1.10 per unit while the actual rate was ₹11 per unit.
Hijab row
Mr. Rao alleged that peaceful atmosphere in the country was being vitiated and cited how the hijab row was unncessarily created. Imagine the country if that fanned out creating trouble, he said and asked what kind of poisonous mindset is being created for political benefit or to camaflouge the failures of BJP. “Who will come to invest in the country in such an atmosphere.”
Revealing statistics, he said industrial output dropped from 4.4% in September to 0.4% in December. While the unemployment in Telangana was 0.3% the national average was over 7%. While the economy is down the economic offenders had fled the country with impunity. This is the development of the BJP, he said sarcastically.
Revealing statistics, he said industrial output dropped from 4.4% in September to 0.4% in December. While the unemployment in Telangana was 0.3% the national average was over 7%. While the economy is down the economic offenders had fled the country with impunity. This is the development of the BJP, he said sarcastically.
