Karnataka 'Power' Play: Upset with Cong's Poll Promise, BJP Protests; There's 'Cow Angle' Too

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday continued their protest in Bengaluru and other districts of Karnataka against the proposed power tariff hike in Karnataka. The BJP has alleged that the Congress government has put several conditions on the five pre-poll guarantees, which makes it difficult for the residents to avail benefit.

The protest, led by MLAs and district presidents, is being organised in all districts’ headquarters. The main opposition party in the state also slammed the Siddaramaiah government for the increase in the tariff and called it Congress’ “double standard”.

“The Congress party had promised that they would provide 200 units of power for free under the ‘Griha Jyoti’ scheme. However, after assuming power, the government has imposed several conditions for this,” Mangaluru Vibhag Prabhari and former chairman of Mysore Electrical Industries Ltd Uday Kumar Shetty was quoted by Deccan Chronicle.

Expressing disappointment, Shetty stated that not only did the government fail to fulfil its promise, but it also increased the power tariff. “Their true colour have been revealed within a month of coming to power. This will adversely impact those families which do not come under the ‘Griha Jyoti’ scheme, as well as those beneficiaries of ‘Griha Jyoti’ who consume additional units of power,” Shetty was quoted.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), which is the largest electricity supply company (Bescom) in Karnataka has informed that there will be power outage in major areas of the city from 10 am to 5 pm on Tuesday, June 6.

GB Palya, Kudlu, KSRth Battalion, Tropical Paradise, Reliable Woods, Vastu Layout, Maruti Layout, Hongasandra, Omshakti Layout, Omshakti Layout areas of Bengaluru are said to be affected.

Other affected areas include Samrat Layout, BTS Layout, BTM 4th Phase, DC Halli, Sathyahalli, Sathyahalli, Sathyahalli, Anugrah Layout, VB Layout, Kuttiyappa Garden, Raghavendra Colony, SBI Layout, Rotary Nagar, Kempamma Layout, Hulimavu, Bhagwati Layout, Beguru Classic Layout, Akshayanagar, Yalenahalli, Nyanappanahalli, Vishwapriya Layout, Kalena Agrahara, Beguru and Arekere.

‘BJP Instigating Use of Free Electricity’

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramiah alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is instigating misuse and extravagant use of free electricity up to 200 units scheme.

“We are offering free electricity to help the poor and middle-class people of the state who are in distress. We have allowed 10% more free electricity consumption than the average consumption in a year. This has been accepted and welcomed by the people of the state. But the BJP, which has been rejected by the people, is instigating misuse and extravagant use of electricity,” he said.

The CM said that it is an anti-people move. We are hopeful that the sensible people of the State will not yield to this. The Congress party has announced to provide 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti) after coming to power in Karnataka.

Mysuru MP and BJP leader Pratap Simha had asked people not to pay electricity bills from June 1, if their consumption was below 200 units.

“From June 1 , if you use less than 200 units power, please don’t pay the bill. Siddaramaiah said it would be free for him too. He’s not poor, so that means it’s free for all. From June 1, I’ll start a protest in Mysuru and Kodagu regions,” Simha had said.

The BJP MP had announced that he will stage a protest in the Mysuru-Kodagu region demanding the implementation of the free power scheme. He said if the consumption was higher, then the first 200 units should be treated as free and only the difference amount should be paid.

BJP’s Protest on Anti-Cow Slaughter Act

The saffron party also protest against Congress’s alleged conspiracy to repeal anti-cow slaughter law. They alleged that the move to withdraw the act is “anti-Hindu”.

Animal husbandary and veterinary sciences minister, K Venkatesh, on Saturday said that farmers have been facing a tough time maintaining aged cattle and disposing of the dead. The minister further questioned, “If one can slaughter buffaloes and bulls, what is wrong with slaughtering cows?”