SAD says far from giving any subsidized power, AAP will do away with 200 units per month free power to Dalits and backward classes if elected to power

(Bikram S Majithia and Dr Daljit S Cheema say promised of 300 units free power per bill cycle was infructuous after Kejriwal admitted consumers will be charged complete bill if consumption even one unit more)

(Say Kejriwal tried to lie farmers were getting free power in Delhi, which was not the case)

 Chandigarh, June 29 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said far from giving any relief to the common man through subsidized power, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would even do away with the 200 unit per month free power provided to the poor including Dalits and backward classes by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal if elected to power in Punjab.

Talking to newsmen here following a press conference addressed by AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal, SAD senior leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the Delhi chief minister had clearly admitted that the party’s promise of 300 units per bill cycle free power facility would only be applicable in case the consumption was less than 300 units. “Kejriwal when questioned on this issue admitted that in case the consumption was more than 300 units, consumers would have to pay the entire bill and would not get any subsidy at all. This amounts to playing a cruel joke on Punjabis as a majority of them will not be eligible for any benefit under this scheme. Instead the poor and disadvantaged will lose out on the 200 unit free power facility which was introduced by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal which is applicable without any conditions”.

Stating that Kejriwal was trying to introduce a flop model which had already failed in Delhi, Mr Majithia also presented power bills of Delhi consumers which showed that they were charged Rs 5.30 per unit for bills slightly above 200 units and not extended any benefit of subsidized power. They also castigated the Delhi CM for trying to lie his way out of the press conference by stating that farmers in Delhi were “probably” given free power when this was not the case and they were charged astronomical fixed charges. “Similarly power tariff of shops and the domestic sector in Delhi, which constitutes the lion’s share of consumers, is extremely high”.

Asserting that Kejriwal had been wrongly briefed by his team, Mr Majithia said the former was tom tomming Rs 6,500 crore subsidized power facility extended in Delhi in six years forgetting that the free power facility extended to farmers in Punjab by S Parkash Singh Badal had given them a benefit of Rs 90,000 crore.

Meanwhile exposing Kejriwal, Dr Cheema said the Delhi chief minister had landed in Punjab after four and a half years to befool people in the 2022 elections. “Earlier also, Kejriwal tried to hoodwink Punjabis by raising the issue of drug trafficking and sacrilege” He said when held accountable, Kejriwal rendered an apology for making false accusations against Mr Bikram Majithia. ‘Punjabis will now hold him accountable for raising the issue of sacrilege by patronizing former IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap who was indicted by the high court for conducting a politically motivated inquiry into the Kotkapura firing incident”.

Dr Cheema said it was also astonishing that despite being a product of an anti-corruption movement, Kejriwal had condoned corruption by his legislators in Punjab. “As many as eight out of the twenty AAP legislators were part of the Congress party at one time or another and some still are part of the Congress. Kejriwal never took any action against them proving that he had sold the party in Punjab to the Congress”.

The leaders also highlighted how the AAP Convener had taken divergent views on the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal by stating that it should not be constructed when speaking in Punjab even as he went on to demand its construction when he returned back to Delhi or even went to Haryana. “It is with the same spirit that Kejriwal has come to deceive Punjabis again on the eve of elections”, the leaders said adding “this time Punjabis know about Kejriwal’s chameleon nature and will not allow him to dupe them again