Delhi's new power minister Atishi Marlena on Thursday said that the electricity board officials were being pressured by the Lieutenant Governor's office to scrap the policy of free electricity to farmers and lawyers. She said: "There is a lot of pressure from BJP leaders and the LG to stop the free electricity."
"There is a proposal to stop the free electricity that the Arvind Kejriwal government provides to farmers and lawyers. When we called the officials of the power department, they said that there is a lot of pressure from the LG," she said.
LG Vinai Kumar Saxena's office is yet to respond to the allegation.
"This proposal has been prepared under pressure from the LG. I want to say to him that you hate AAP and Arvind Kejriwal, but I request you not to hate us so much that you also come to hate even people of Delhi including farmers and lawyers," she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "Free electricity scheme will not be stopped till Kejriwal is there," she added.
The Delhi government provides city farmers free electricity and lawyers' subsidy on electricity. Domestic electricity consumption up to 200 units per month is free, while users whose monthly consumption is 201 to 400 units are paid 50% subsidy, which is capped at Rs 850, under the scheme. Farmers get unlimited free electricity.
The claim marks yet another controversy in the Delhi government-vs-LG saga. The Delhi government and the LG's office have been at loggerheads since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2013, mostly stemming from the issue of division of power. Recently, the two locked horns over the election of the the mayor and deputy mayor of the MCD, excise policy, demolition drives in Delhi, teachers' training in Finland, and non-disbursement of salaries to mohalla clinic staffers.
(With inputs from PTI.)