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In Punjab, Kejriwal promises free electricity; says only AAP can do this magic
Arvind Kejriwal has made a number of trips to Punjab where elections are due in 2022. The Aam Aadmi Party, which was a newcomer in 2017 polls, wants to expand its base in the state.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday promised free electricity till 300 units to people of Punjab if his party wins next year’s assembly elections in the state. Kejriwal is on his second visit to Punjab this month to prepare the ground for AAP ahead of state polls. He had visited Amritsar on June 21.
“This is Kejriwal's guarantee, not Captain's promises. As soon as the AAP government is formed, we will ensure free power and write off pending bills of consumers of domestic supply category,” the Delhi chief minister said while targeting chief minister Amarinder Singh at a press conference in Chandigarh.
He, however, clarified that the promise of free power is for domestic consumers with consumption upto 300 units. “If power consumption exceeds 300 units, they will have to pay the bill,” said the AAP chief.
“I am sure these announcements will make everyone, particularly women, in Punjab happy,” he added.
Kejriwal was accompanied by state AAP president Bhagwant Mann, leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly Harpal Singh Cheema, Punjab affairs in-charge and Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh and AAP spokesperson, Punjab affairs co-incharge Raghav Chadha and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh.
"We have done this in Delhi in six years where people get free power. We will do it in Punjab the same way. Yeh jadoo hai hamein hi karna aata hai (This is the magic only we can do). I have done my calculations,” said Kejriwal.
Targeting the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, he said that there is no dearth of money in Punjab, but it lacks government with acchi neeyat (good intentions).
Kejriwal had talked about providing free power on Monday, before coming to Punjab. “In Delhi, we provide 200 units of free electricity to every family. The women are quite happy. Women in Punjab are also quite unhappy with inflation. The AAP government will also provide free electricity in Punjab,” he had said in the tweet posted in Gurmukhi.
In the 2017 assembly elections, AAP was a newcomer but still won 20 of the total 117 seats. The Congress formed the government after winning 77. This time, Kejriwal has decided to amp up his campaign to allow AAP to expand base to other states.
The ruling Congress too had carried out a survey on providing free power to the residents of the state. State officials feel additional subsidy burden on account of free electricity to domestic consumers will not be tenable.
AAP had made similar promise during the election in Delhi last year while seeking to return to power, which was criticised by other parties. The residents had given mixed response to the initiative. The party won the elections comfortably.
