Chandigarh, February 11: Sangrur Member of Parliament (MP) and state unit chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) exuded confidence that the ‘Bijli Andolan’ spearheaded by the party in the state had received an overwhelming response.
High power tariff had affected not only the poor but other sections of the society as well. Mann lambasted the erstwhile SAD-BJP government and the Congress government, saying they were solely responsible for earning disquiet among those paying hefty power bills through their nose.
In a statement, Mann said he had been raising the issue at all fronts but to no avail. He accused Sukhbir Singh Badal for colluding with the private operators during the SAD-BJP regime by winding up the government thermal plants at Bathinda. This, he said, was a scam worth crore.
Mann said that it was shocking to hear Congress party president and MP Sunil Jakhar saying that a whopping sum of Rs 2,300 crore per annum was being usurped by the private thermal plants in which Sukhbir Badal was a party to the ‘slush’ money being paid from the government exchequer. He demanded that Captain resign from the post on the allegation by the party president and senior leader Jakhar.
Mann said the AAP had ignited a ray of hope for those who were bearing the brunt of hefty power bills. He said the 4th day of the ongoing ‘Bijli Andolan’ had turned out to be a mass movement in at least 650 villages with the affected people coming to voice their grievances. He further added that in as many as 371 villages redressal committees had been constituted to look into the matter.
