Chandigarh, May 11
Senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon on Monday advised Chandigarh Congress MP and former Union Minister Manish Tewari to stop shedding crocodile tears for the people of Chandigarh UT by raising a hollow and insincere demand for 300 units of free electricity and free water for economically weaker families in the city.Reacting to Tewari’s appeal to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria for targeted welfare measures for the urban poor and lower middle class, Tandon said the Congress leader has no moral right to speak about free electricity and water when his own party’s government in Himachal Pradesh has shamelessly gone back on its promises in this regard.
Tandon, who is also the co-in-charge of BJP for Himachal Pradesh, said that when the BJP was in power in Himachal Pradesh, people were getting 125 units of electricity for free . “In the election, the Congress promised to give 300 units free power but after coming to power, what to talk of giving 300 units free the Congress discontinued giving even 125 units free power to the needy. Therefore, it does not lie in the mouth of Tewari to demand free power and water for Chandigarh’s poor now”.
Tandon asked if it is not hypocritical on the part of Tewari that on the one hand he is demanding free power and water for people in Chandigarh and on the other, his party in nearby Himachal has been unable to ensure regular water supply to people even in cities like Solan. In Solan, for the past two years, people have been forced to live with water supply only once in a week, Tandon said. Tandon alleged that the Himachal Congress government had lured voters with promises of free electricity during elections, but later withdrew subsidies and increased tariffs, causing immense hardship to common citizens. He said electricity rates had been increased from Rs 4.17 per unit to Rs 5.89 per unit, directly impacting household budgets.Tandon asserted that the BJP remained committed to transparent governance and genuine public welfare, unlike Congress, which he accused of using “freebies rhetoric” only during elections.
