NEW DELHI: The BJP has announced that it will soon send a delegation to meet the newly-appointed Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman seeking the reversal of the decision to increase the power tariff in the capital.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the party expressed its displeasure with the hike and warned that if their demands were not addressed, they would approach the High Court to challenge the decision.
The BJP also plans to hold a demonstration outside the residence of the Chief Minister on Tuesday. A party official said that this is a direct response to the AAP-led government’s lack of action following the DERC’s approval of the power tariff increase.
Virendra Sachdeva, president of the Delhi unit of the BJP, accused the Kejriwal government of providing unwarranted financial support to private distribution companies (discoms) for the past decade. He alleged that subsidies were granted without proper scrutiny and criticised the inclusion of additional charges, such as pension fees, in consumers’ bills, which further benefited the private companies.
Sachdeva questioned the government’s silence on the matter and expressed concerns about the potential collusion between the government and the discoms. He said that even four days after the DERC’s permission to raise power tariffs, the government’s inaction has raised suspicions.
He also pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had previously advocated for audits of power discoms and promised no tariff hikes. However, during the DERC hearing, the AAP remained silent, leading to an exemption that allowed discoms to raise tariffs by more than 9.5 per cent, he claimed. The saffron party declared that it will stage protests against the Kejriwal government demanding the withdrawal of the power tariff hike.