GUWAHATI: Assam Assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary has simple advice for those who cannot afford electricity – sit under a tree.
“The electricity tariff has increased. Don’t switch on the fans if you cannot afford it. Sit under a tree,” Daimary advised people, reacting to the criticism of the BJP-led government for frequently increasing power tariffs.
“The government buys electricity from companies and if they inflate the price, what can it do? It will have to make do by increasing tariff,” the BJP leader said.
He asked people not to make this an issue and stressed on judicious utilisation of power.
Opposition Congress was quick to shoot back. It accused the BJP government of trying to push Assam to the stone age.
Condemning Daimary’s remarks, state Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah said, “Our forefathers sat under a tree and then with time, people started living under light and fan under the Congress. Will they now have to go back to the stone age?”
Borah added that when people were struggling due to rising power tariffs, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma kept moving around places in a helicopter.
Assam Congress working president Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha linked the Speaker’s remarks to the state’s alleged precarious financial health. He blamed the chief minister’s alleged faulty policies for the mess.
“The government has failed to give relief to people from constant rise in prices, now the Speaker is advising them to sit under a tree. Next, the government will advise them to eat one meal and skip another in order that they can fight inflation,” Purkayastha said.
Recently, Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd levied additional charges of 30 paise to 70 paise per unit for its consumers to clear outstanding dues to power-generating agencies. The decision, however, ruffled the feathers of the All Assam Electricity Consumers’ Association, opposition parties and various organisations.