Karnataka: After power tariff, Siddaramaiah govt hikes drinking water rates too, claims BJP

After increasing the power tariff, the Karnataka government has hiked the drinking water rates, the state BJP claimed on Thursday. In a tweet, the Karnataka BJP said that the promises made by the Congress cannot be fulfilled and the only guarantee of the old party was to make new experiments on the masses and give them the trouble of a price rise.

In its manifesto for the assembly election, the Congress had made five promises including free power to all households in Karnataka. While the state government recently rolled out a new scheme to provide free power, the power tariff was increased by Rs 2.89 for people consuming over 200 units.

The Congress, however, said that the rate hike was done during the previous BJP government but it could not be implemented due to "billing issues".  

Today, former chief minister Basavraj Bommai rejected the claim that it was his government that hiked the power tariff. "They are deceiving people by lying @siddaramaiah that the fuel price hike was done by the previous government. The official order regarding the increase in fuel price has been issued on June 2. The people of the state should note whose government was on June 2."

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Bommai said Congress was trying to shirk its responsibility by alleging that the previous government did the electricity tariff hike. He said his government did not agree to the proposal to increase electricity rates. "When the order came on June 2, the Congress government was in the state. I condemn the action of the Congress government who are defrauding the wishes of the people of the state through their lies," he said.

The BJP also claimed that the Karnataka finance department had expressed its inability to provide additional grants for the payment of wages and fuel prices. The party wondered if Congress would now pay for the free bus rides from its pocket. During the election campaign, Congress had promised free bus rides for women in the state. 

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Posting a copy of the purported letter of the state finance department on Twitter, BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said, "Revdi politics is bleeding Karnataka already." 

"The government of Karnataka's Finance Department informs RTCs (road transport corporations), including KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) and BMTC (Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation), that it cannot provide an additional grant for payment of wages and fuel expenditure," he said. "Will Congress now pay for the promised free bus rides from its pocket?" Malaviya asked.