Activists of the nine Left parties staged a demonstration outside Prakasam Bhavan here on Friday in protest against the hike in electricity tariff by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh.
Leading the protest, Communist Party of India (CPI) Prakasam district secretary M.L. Narayana alleged that it was unfortunate that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who had before the elections promised to review the power purchase agreement with independent electricity producers, had hiked power tariff seven times after coming to power at the behest of the BJP-led Central government.
Recalling how the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had lost power in the wake of the Basheerbagh police firing on those protesting against power tariff hike in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, he said, ‘‘The hefty hike in power tariff will turn out to be a political waterloo for the YSRCP.”
The YSRCP government had fleeced power consumers by imposing a variety of charges such as fuel charge, true-up charge, electricity adjustment charge etc., and left them burdened, said CPI(M) district secretary Sd. Hanif.
He saw a ‘big scam‘ behind the agreement to buy smart meters for farm pump-sets and household power connections from private players. ’‘The high power purchase cost is responsible for the periodic hike in power tariff,” he charged.
The Left parties would mobilise the support of different sections of people for a protracted struggle to exert pressure on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government not to implement the ‘so-called power sector reforms‘ being opposed by 11 States, including BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, said CPI(ML) New Democracy district secretary Ch. Venkateswarlu.
CPI (Marxist-Leninist) leader Lalitha Kumari alleged that the State government had imposed a burden of ₹40,000 crore with a view to get ₹4,000-crore credit.
Taking a cue from farmers from Anantapur, farmers across the State would forcibly remove the smart meters fixed to farm pump-sets, said Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham district secretary Vadde Hanuma Reddy. He feared dilution of the free power scheme. ‘‘Farmers will have no option but to end their lives if power subsidy is scrapped,” he added.
