Health minister DL Ravindra Reddy has joined endowments minister C Ramachandraiah in opposing the proposed power tariff hike.
Ramachandraiah dashed off a strongly- worded letter to PCC chief Botcha Satyanarayana on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Ravindra Reddy said: “I totally agree with the opinions of Ramachandraiah.” The tariff hike should have discussed either at the party forum or by the cabinet, he said and expressed fear that it might prove costly for the Congress in the 2014 elections.
Ravindra Reddy, who had held the energy portfolio in the past, said a power bill should be such that the consumer would be willing to pay, he said. “There are several ways of saving the power sector. Increasing the power tariff is not the only solution.” Asked whether he would demand a roll-back of proposed hike, Reddy said he would raise the matter at the Cabinet meeting.
Meanwhile, 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee chairman N Tulasi Reddy said the government had not yet accepted the discoms’ proposal for a tariff hike and even reduced the tariff this year too. He recalled the party’s assurance in the manifesto that it would not hike power tariff.