Punjab: Congress protests withdrawal of power subsidy

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the decision has impacted around 95% consumers.

The Punjab Congress on Wednesday held a protest outside the PSPCL headquarters in Patiala against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over withdrawal of the ₹3 per unit power subsidy for consumers having loads up to 7 kilowatts (KW).

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring leading the protest outside the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) headquarters in Patiala on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who led the protest, said the decision impacted around 95% of the consumers. He accused AAP of failing to fulfill its promises.

Warring highlighted that the industrial electricity rates had also skyrocketed under AAP’s regime, “pushing businesses out of the state”. He noted that during the Congress tenure, industrial electricity cost around ₹8.65 per unit, while now it has surged to ₹11 per unit.

He also criticised the government’s fiscal mismanagement, citing a debt of ₹61,000 crore that has accumulated in just two years, with plans to borrow ₹30,000 crore more. “This will cripple the future generations,” he said.

Warring also took aim at AAP’s “extravagant spending on self-promotion”, pointing out that ₹900 crore had been wasted on advertisements featuring chief minister Bhagwant Mann.