Congress govt to implement Gruha Jyothi free power scheme from Feb

Hyderabad: The Congress government will implement the Gruha Jyothi guarantee scheme to provide free power to households up to 200 units from February. The benefit will show up in the power bills issued in March.

The decision was taken at a Congress manifesto committee meeting held in Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, attended by AICC Telangana affairs incharge Deepa Dasmunsi, minister D. Sridhar Babu, who is also chairman of the manifesto committee and minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.

Speaking to media personnel after the meeting, Venkat Reddy said that the meeting deliberated at length on measures to implement the party's Six Guarantees within 100 days of coming to power, as promised during the Assembly polls.

"The Congress government has completed just 47 days in office. We are already implementing one component of two guarantee schemes, Maha Lakshmi and Cheyutha. We have now decided to implement the third guarantee of Gruha Jyothi from February," Venkat Reddy said.

He was referring to the free bus travel for women under the Maha Lakshmi scheme and the increase in mediclaim under the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

Stating that the Congress government was committed to implementing all the Six Guarantees within 100 days as promised during Assembly polls, Venkat Reddy lashed out at BRS leaders for accusing the seven-week-old Congress government of failing to deliver.

He slammed BRS leaders K.T. Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao for asking people not to pay electricity bills from this month since the Congress had promised free power.

"They were in power for nearly ten years and did not deliver on their major poll promises of three acres for Dalits, 2BHK houses for the poor, KG to PG free education, a government job for every household," Venkat Reddy said.

“KTR and Harish should feel ashamed for questioning the Congress for not implementing its Six Guarantees when it has already started implementing two guarantees within 48 hours of assuming office," Venkat Reddy stated.

He asked BRS leaders to imagine what would have happened had the Congress, while in the Opposition, provoked the people against the BRS government for not keeping promises made over two election cycles.

"Could you have moved out of your houses or farmhouses had we provoked people for not fulfilling your major poll promises in ten years," Venkat Reddy asked.