New Delhi, July 04:
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday promised free electricity on the lines of Delhi and Punjab if the party is voted to power in Gujarat, where elections are due later this year.
“I will return next Sunday with a solution to solve Gujarat’s electricity problem,” said Kejriwal, who is in poll-bound Gujarat for a two-day visit. He referred to power cuts and frequent increases in the power tariffs in the state and added it is possible to cut bills without availing of loans, or introducing new taxes. He referred to his party’s experiences in Delhi and Punjab, where AAP was voted to power this year.
“In Delhi, 73% of consumers do not have to pay anything for power consumption. Similarly, in the case of Punjab, 80% of users will not have to pay for power consumption. In Delhi, we are providing round-the-clock electricity and we will achieve a similar feat in Punjab in the next two to two and half years,” he said.
Governments of AAP, which is trying to make inroads into states such as Gujarat, in Delhi and Punjab provide 200 and 300 units of free electricity to each household monthly. “Providing free electricity is something like magic. It is an art that only I know. Nobody else in the country is doing it except AAP,” said Kejriwal. He said the secret to achieving this is honesty. “We do not ask for money from power companies; we overhaul the system. We work in the interest of the public.”
Kejriwal said as soon as AAP assumed office in Delhi, power companies were warned against raising rates. “We told them we have nothing to do with how you dealt with the earlier governments, but our government is honest. We will not ask a single penny from you. In return, you should not raise electricity rates. In the last seven years, they have not raised the rates.”
He added if farmers in Gujarat are supplied electricity at night for six to eight hours, then ministers should also work at night for some time. Kejriwal said this in response to a farmer’s complaint that the power supply for agriculture was being provided at night.
Kejriwal accused ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of falsely claiming that Gujarat does not face power cuts.
