Congress vows 24/7 power upon TS win

HYDERABAD: Congress MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said Tuesday that the party when it forms government after the upcoming elections, would give uninterrupted power around the clock to farmers. The Congress complaint is that presently farmers do not get continuous power supply despite the claims of the government.

“As the star campaigner of the Congress, I am saying that we would give 24 hours uninterrupted power to farmers,” said Venkat Reddy said.

Several Congress leaders pointed out that the party government had started free power. “In places where we were not able to provide water through irrigation projects, we launched the free power scheme,” said CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka.

TPCC senior vice-president Mallu Ravi on Tuesday asserted that free power for agriculture was a Congress scheme and only the party had shouting rights over it. The party would only remove corruption from the purchase of power, he said.

“The BRS government is buying power from outside the state at double the cost. In the name of farmers, the state government is swindling money,” he said. Ravi said TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy had repeatedly highlighted the irregularities in the purchase of power by the BRS government.

Former MP Ponnam Prabhakar asked if the BRS was ready for a debate with the Congress on the issue of power purchase agreements, or an inquiry by a sitting judge.

PCC general secretary Addanki Dayakar said the BRS government was spending ₹36,000 crores to benefit power producers.

Kisan Cell vice-president M. Kodanda Reddy pointed out that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had opposed the free power scheme when he was with the TD. “We are committed to the free power scheme.”

Anvesh Reddy Sunketa, chairman, Telangana Kisan Congress, said power was not being supplied for 24 hours anywhere in the state.