BHUBANESWAR: Former union minister Srikant Jena has criticised the State Government for misleading the Assembly on power tariff hike. Reacting to the statement of Minister of State for Energy Dibya Shankar Mishra in the Assembly on Friday that power tariff in the State has remained unchanged for the past seven years, Jena said this is a fit case for the opposition members to take up the matter to the privileges committee as the Minister has deliberately misled the House by giving false information.
“The Minister is absolutely wrong by informing the Assembly that there has not been any hike in power tariff since 2014-15. The fact remains that the Government has increased the tariff for three times,” he said. Jena said the tariff hike during 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2017-18 were 2.40 per cent (pc), 4.64 pc and 1.44 pc respectively.
“It is the job of the legislators to demand action against the Minister for providing wrong information. The Speaker is duty bound to take action as per parliamentary procedure,” Jena said. He said the Speaker being a former energy minister is well aware of the facts placed by Mishra before the Assembly. He should call for records and decide what course of action should be taken against the Minister.