BJP/Cong combine responsible for electricity & water tarrif hike

The BJP and the Congress cannot escape the joint responsibility of increasing the hardships of the people of Delhi by having connived to put an end to the relief provided by the Aam Aadmi Party government, which had subsidised electricity bills and provided free water for three months.

The AAP had promised to audit the accounts of private power distribution companies and slash electricity tarrifs along with providing upto 700 litres of water free to the people of Delhi before the assembly elections.

After the formation of its minority government led by Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP fulfilled all these promises immediately after assuming office on December 28, 2013.

Rattled by the new government’s performance, which was implementing all its election promises one after the other, the BJP and the Congress hatched a conspiracy to disrupt the functioning of this pro-people government.

Both the parties joined hands in the state assembly on February 14 to defeat the AAP government’s Janlokpal bill and openly declared that the BJP and Congress have a combined strength of 40 MLAs in the 70 member House, and therefore the bill cannot be introduced.

Following the resignation of the AAP government after its proposal to introduce the bill was defeated in the assembly, the next stage of the conspiracy hatched between the BJP and the Congress was carried out in the parliament.

When the Congress-led UPA government introduced the Delhi’s interim budget in Parliament and made no provision in it for continuing the subsidy for electricity bills and free water beyond March 31, the BJP readily supported and got this budget passed.

The 18-point charter of the AAP, which the Congress had agreed to before the government was formed in Delhi, included both, bringing down the electricity bills and free water. Infact, before the AAP government resigned on February 14, the Congress was forced to support its decision of providing the subsidy on electricity and water for the months of January, February and March.

When the AAP government had already made this provision, what was the need for tampering with it at a time when there is no government in the capital ?

Can the Congress answer why its central government chose to terminate this relief which was provided to the people ?

The BJP, which has mastered the art of firing from the Congress shoulder on matters related to Delhi, owes an answer to the people of Delhi as to why it supported an anti-people interim budget of the UPA government for Delhi ?

The BJP-Congress combine has been running away from answering all questions, including in the Supreme Court on whether they want to jointly form a government in Delhi to put an end to the President’s rule.

Both these parties took an almost identical stand before the Supreme Court on Monday and defended the Lieutenant Governor’s recommendation to keep the assembly in suspended animation. Why are the BJP and Congress hesitant to declare that they are even willing to form a coalition government in Delhi to avoid fresh assembly elections at all costs ? more