Gehlot government announces free electricity, BJP taunts, 'After looting for 4.5 yrs...'

In a big announcement ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled for later this year, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday declared that households consuming up to 100 units of electricity per month would receive free electricity.

The Chief Minister explained that feedback received from the public, particularly regarding the fuel surcharge in electricity bills for the month of May, influenced this decision. As per the new policy, individuals consuming up to 100 units of electricity per month will have a zero electricity bill and will not be required to make any advance payments. For households consuming more than 100 units, the first 100 units will be provided free of cost, irrespective of the total bill amount. This means that they will not have to pay for the initial 100 units, regardless of their overall consumption.

CM Gehlot announced that households consuming up to 200 units per month would be eligible for the scheme. These households will receive the first 100 units of electricity free of charge and exemptions on fixed charges for up to 200 units. Additionally, all fuel surcharges and other associated fees will be waived, with the state government taking responsibility for paying these charges.

महंगाई राहत शिविरों के अवलोकन व जनता से बात करने पर फीडबैक आया कि बिजली बिलों में मिलने वाली स्लैबवार छूट में थोड़ा बदलाव किया जाए.

- मई महीने में बिजली बिलों में आए फ्यूल सरचार्ज को लेकर भी जनता से फीडबैक मिला जिसके आधार पर बड़ा फैसला किया है.
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- 100 यूनिट प्रतिमाह तक बिजली… pic.twitter.com/z27tJRuyaf

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51)

BJP slams Gehlot, says 'After lotting for 4.5 years...'

The Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Rajendra Rathore took a dig at Ashok Gehlot by calling the latter a "sloganeering Chief Minister" and accused the Congress government of lotting the public for 4.5 years.

"What an awesome timing. You were so impressed by the energetic address of PM Modi that you were forced to announce the relief late at night. After four and a half years of looting the public, now, as the election year approached, the announcement of waiving off fuel surcharges and other fees on electricity bills will not deceive the public. There are flaws in both your policy and intentions," Rathore tweeted.

"It is absurd that the Congress government, which has been collecting an average of 55 paise per unit as a fuel surcharge from electricity consumers for the past four years, is now playing the gimmick of waiving off fuel surcharges up to 200 units. Whereas, in the previous BJP government, the fuel surcharge was only an average of 18 paise per unit," he added.

घोषणावीर मुख्यमंत्री @ashokgehlot51 जी, गजब की टाइमिंग है। माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के ऊर्जावान संबोधन से आप इस कदर प्रभावित हो गये कि देर रात्रि में आपको राहत की घोषणा करने को मजबूर होना पड़ रहा है। साढ़े 4 सालों से जनता को लूटने के बाद अब चुनावी साल आते ही… https://t.co/R0jO38hpOn

— Rajendra Rathore (@Rajendra4BJP)

The saffron party leader slammed the Rajasthan CM saying that before making announcements, the latter should settle the outstanding amount of Rs 15,180 crores against the subsidy given to electricity consumers from the power companies. He also claimed that there is a loss of around Rs 1,20,000 crores due to discoms. "It would be better if the government pays off these dues first and then makes announcements," he said.

Further deepening his attack on the Gehlot government, Rathore said, "The benefit of the reduction in electricity bills will only be realised by the public when there is electricity. Consumers of electricity in urban and rural areas of the state have to endure prolonged power cuts. They are forced to bear the brunt of the imposed power cuts."