Badal, Gadkari discuss ways to end power rift

Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari met for the first time on Tuesday to iron out differences over the power tariff hike for cities announced last year, reports Shekhar Iyer.

Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari met for the first time on Tuesday to iron out differences over the power tariff hike for cities announced last year.

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The BJP wants the state to bear the cost of the Rs 800 crore hike on domestic, commercial and industrial consumers as it does for the farm sector.

The Akali leaders say the government has already committed an additional Rs 542 crore to compensate the state electricity board.

The BJP believes the hike tends to pinch the party’s core constituents, the urban consumers. Its leaders in Punjab argue that the government had earlier announced its commitment for more subsidies and should now live up to its word.