राजनीति

After ₹ 500 Cooking Gas, Ashok Gehlot's Big Relief On Power Bills In Rajasthan

The Congress has tweaked its free electricity promise -- which was hugely successful in Karnataka -- for Rajasthan, which will have its assembly election by the end of this year. Free electricity up to 100 units and fixed rate for the next 100 was Ashok Gehlot government's announcement this evening, which, the Chief Minister said, is based on public feedback.

"After observing inflation relief camps and talking to the public, there was feedback that there should be a slight change in the slab-wise exemption in electricity bills. Feedback was also received from the public regarding the fuel surcharge in the electricity bills in the month of May, on the basis of which a big decision has been taken," reads a rough translation of Mr Gehlot's tweet in Hindi.

The huge late evening announcement came on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi practically launched the party's campaign from Ajmer with a sharp attack on the state Congress, accusing it of corruption and factionalism.

This is the Congress's first big ticket announcement since December, when Mr Gehlot had promised huge subsidies on cooking gas. The prices were slashed by more than half to provide 12 cylinders a year at ₹ 500 each.

Last year, the government had also launched a mega health insurance scheme, which offers free medical facilities up to ₹ 25 lakh at government hospitals. The minimum monthly pension has also been increased to ₹ 1,000 under the social security scheme.

Ahead of the Karnataka assembly election, the Congress had taken a leaf out of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party's book. The promise of free water and electricity, which had paid huge electoral dividends to AAP in Delhi and Punjab, worked for the Congress in Karnataka too.

But reports say the tardiness in implementation is causing hiccups for the Siddaramaiah government. Over the last weeks, farmers in several pockets have refused to pay power bills, insisting that the discom agents collect it from the state government.

The state BJP, which is still smarting over its defeat, is gleeful over the ruling party's predicament. BJP MP Pratap Simha has urged people not to pay electricity bills from June 1 if their consumption is below 200 units.