Water, power subsidies end, blame game begins

With the end of the 666 litres of free water scheme and slashed power tariff on April 1, the BJP, Congress and AAP blamed one another for this situation. 

Congress sought registration of an FIR against Arvind Kejriwal for duping people.

“A criminal case should be filed against Arvind Kejriwal for betraying people on power and water tariff. Kejriwal left this issue pending to vitiate the atmosphere among people. Due to Kejriwal’s irresponsible and anti-people activities, the subsidy given by the previous Congress government has also been stopped,” Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said on Tuesday.

The AAP accused Congress and BJP of ending subsidies in Delhi.

“Congress and BJP are responsible for the hike in rates of water and electricity from today (Tuesday). When the interim budget of Delhi was passed by Parliament, both parties could have made options for extending subsidies for electricity in the interim budget, but it had not been done by them,” AAP national spokesperson Deepak Vajpayee said.

The BJP also accused Kejriwal for shedding “crocodile tears”. 

“Kejriwal is shedding crocodile tears and playing a drama. He met the Lieutenant Governor and is trying to cover up this betrayal. We appeal to the central government that it should grant special financial assistance to Delhi and save people from the shock of steep hike in power and water tariff,” party leader V K Malhotra said.

But Delhiites will not feel the impact of stopped subsidies immediately. By the time the bills will be generated, the Lok Sabha elections will be over.

The former AAP government had announced 20,000 litres of free potable water to every household per month and a slash of 50 per cent in power tariff on the slabs of till 200 and 201-400 units till March 31.