THE Congress party has termed the latest hike in electricity rates in the State a grave injustice and an act of economic oppression against the public. Former CM Bhupesh Baghel launched a scathing attack on the BJP government’s anti-people policies during a press conference held at Rajiv Bhavan in Durg on Thursday. He alleged that instead of providing relief, the BJP government is continuously raising electricity rates, thereby imposing an additional financial burden on ordinary consumers, farmers and traders. During the discussion, Baghel told that this marks the fifth hike in electricity rates since the BJP government took office in State. The public is already distressed by high electricity bills and frequent power outages; yet, instead of offering relief, the government is increasing rates. Baghel noted that during its five-year tenure, the Congress government had raised electricity rates by only 2 paise and provided significant relief to the common people by implementing a scheme that halved electricity bills for consumption up to 400 units.

 

The BJP government discontinued this scheme immediately upon coming to power and is now picking the public’s pockets by continuously hiking electricity rates. Baghel mentioned that in June, over 4.5 million electricity consumers in the state received bills that were approximately three times the average amount. This has sparked widespread public anger, forcing people to make repeated visits to electricity department offices. Citing the example of the Uttar Pradesh government which reconsidered its smart meter system in response to public complaints Baghel demanded that the Chhattisgarh government also review the smart meter system in the public interest and withdraw it if necessary. Accompanying Baghel during the media interaction were Durg District Rural Congress President Rakesh Thakur, Durg City Congress President Dheeraj Bakliwal, State Congress General Secretaries Rajendra Sahu, Deepak Dubey, and Jitendra Sahu, Bhilai Mayor Neeraj Pal, Risali Mayor Shashi Sinha, Shiju Anthony and other Congress leaders.