ToeingAam Aadmi Party national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's'mantra' to woo the people in Punjab by announcing pre-poll sops of free andsubsidised electricity, Congress leader and former state minister Navjot Sidhuon Sunday advocated for a 24-hour supply with no power cuts and free power upto 300 units.
"Punjabalready provides Rs 9,000 crore subsidy but we must do more for domestic andindustrial consumer giving power at Rs 3-5 per unit instead of surchargeinflated Rs 10-12 per unit, along 24-hour supply with no power cuts and freepower (up to 300 units)," Sidhu said in a tweet, adding, "It is definitelyachievable."
Hefurther said: "Let us start with the Congress high command's pro-people18-point agenda and get rid of the faulty un-negotiable Badal-signed PowerPurchase Agreements through 'new legislation in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha' andfixing rates as per the national power exchange with no fixed charges!"
Sidhu'sassertions on power outages in Punjab came days after AAP national convenorKejriwal kicked off a campaign in the state by announcing free and subsidisedelectricity, his tested formula in Delhi.
Addressinga press conference in Chandigarh on June 29, Kejriwal offered free electricityup to 300 units and promised to waive off all the old electricity bills andarrears, if AAP forms the government in Punjab.
OnSaturday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said his government would besoon announcing its legal strategy to counter the "ill-conceived"power purchase agreements (PPAs) during the previous SAD-BJP regime.
Ina series of tweets two days back, Sidhu had blamed the PPAs that the previousgovernment had signed with three private thermal power plants and said"till 2020 Punjab has paid Rs 5,400 crore due to faulty clauses in theseagreements. It is expected to pay Rs 65,000 crore of people's money just asfixed charges".
Favouringthe need to set aside the PPAs, Sidhu had said the state can purchase powerfrom the national grid at much cheaper rates. "But these Badal-signed PPAsare acting against Punjab's public interest. Punjab may not be able tore-negotiate these PPAs due to them having legal protection from honourablecourts, But there is a way forward," he had said.
Facingsevere electricity crisis, the Punjab government last week curtailed timings ofthe government offices, and cut down power supply to high energy consumingindustries to save crops and ease the domestic power situation.
Sidhuhad resigned from his post as a Punjab Cabinet Minister on July 14, 2019 afterdifferences with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over portfolio allocation.Sidhu was in-charge of local bodies but was shifted to the Power Department.
Partysources said a section of the Congress central leadership wants to suitablycompensate Sidhu, who has been pushed to the sidelines, by making him as thestate party chief.
However,a section of the Hindu legislators, owing allegiance to the Chief Minister, arenot accepting Sidhu's induction. Their agreement is that the party cannotafford to have two Jat Sikh leaders in prominent roles -- one as a ChiefMinister and another as state party chief.
Speculationsin political circles are rife that Sidhu may join the AAP ahead of the 2022Assembly elections.