'Power bills subsidy is Arvind Kejriwals' poll freebie'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari Thursday termed as "poll stunt" Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement that people consuming up to 200 units of electricity would not have to pay power bills.

The decision of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government comes ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, which are due early next year. Tiwari said he welcomes the move, but it is aimed at political gains in the run up to the polls. "Kejriwal is announcing freebies in view of the assembly elections," he said in a press conference. The AAP retaliated to Tiwari's charge saying Delhi has an educated and honest chief minister who understands policies, unlike the BJP-ruled states, and that is why electricity could be heavily subsidised.

"If Manoj Tiwari ji is so opposed to free electricity then he should give up free electricity given to him as an MP. I want to tell him that the AAP-led government is able to provide electricity at such price because it has an honest and IIT educated chief minister who understands policies," senior AAP leader Atishi said.

BJP's Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said that Kejriwal had claimed that Delhi's power discoms were looting people when AAP came to power in 2015. "He is the man who had demanded an audit of discoms by CAG charging them of looting people. Now, he is saying the discoms were bankrupt which exposes him," Gupta said. The BJP leaders demanded that the AAP government must return around Rs 8000 crore realised from power consumers due to hiked fixed charges.

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