West Bengal State Assembly Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and other BJP members at a protest rally against high power tariffs in Kolkata on Friday, July 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a protest rally against high power tariffs in front of the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) office in Kolkata’s Esplanade area on Friday, July 26, 2024, four days after the Trinamool Congress had organised its Martyrs’ Day rally at the same place on July 21.
The rally took place after the BJP approached the Calcutta High Court, which in an order last Friday, July 19, allowed a gathering of “no more than 1,000 number of supporters” between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm on July 26. The rally started from the BJP headquarters at 6, Muralidhar Sen Lane and ended in front of the CESC House, as per the route fixed by the Court in its order on July 19.
The protest was attended by Leader of the Opposition of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, as well as BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul, former MLA Tapas Roy, former National Secretary Rahul Sinha and other BJP leaders.
“CESC’s monopoly over Kolkata’s electric supply will soon be broken by the Electricity Amendment Bill and the public can then choose the least expensive supplier,” senior BJP leader Mr. Adhikari said. The Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 aims to open up the power sector to increased participation and higher competition by removing the licensing requirement for power distributors to connect transmission lines to the grid
“After the election results on June 4, the Trinamool Congress government has increased Re 1 cess over petrol and diesel, increased the stamp duty in the buying selling of property,” Mr. Adhikari alleged. “The party has been using money they raised from electoral bonds to build a Pakistan in West Bengal, to loot votes and to leave the State’s democracy in the hands of lumpens.”
He added that the BJP’s protest over high power tariffs will continue, and if needed, the party will once again approach the Calcutta High Court and conduct a five-day-long demonstration over the issue. “We are giving CESC time till August 15,” he said, adding: “Today, the BJP MLAs who won from the Hindu vote have proved in the Vidhan Sabha, with Gitas in hand, that the Hindus of West Bengal are rising.”
On Friday, around 55 saffron party MLAs staged a walkout in the West Bengal Assembly to protest against the Speaker’s decision to not allow a motion seeking discussion on a recent comment made by Kolkata Mayor and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Urban Development, Firhad Hakim.
In the protest meeting, former MLA Tapas Roy alleged that his recent electricity bill amounts to over Rs 20,000, which he claimed is 5 times the average bill amount. “Meanwhile, on the four days of Durga Puja, the Puja organisers will enjoy a 75% rebate on the electricity bill… On the other hand, poor people who cannot pay such high tariffs will descend into darkness and stop studying for lack of affordable electricity.” He alleged that while in other States it is possible to choose power distributors from a range of options, in the Kolkata metropolitan area, CESC enjoys complete monopoly.
“The BJP might have lagged behind in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, but we are far from finished,” former national secretary Rahul Sinha said at the protest. “The BJP is the only way if the public wishes to take a stance against CESC’s high tariffs.”