Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar on Sunday accused the BJP government in the State and Centre of looting the people during COVID pandemic by increasing the power tariffs and hiking the petrol rates.
“The BJP Government has increased the tariffs in electricity bills, hiked rates of petrol and diesel and is literally looting the common man in this COVID pandemic, when the household budgets of the people have completely collapsed due to economic crisis. On one hand BJP Government is heavily taxing people and on the other hand all schemes providing financial assistance to the needy are stopped,” Chodankar alleged.
He demanded that the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant explain where this money goes.
“The fuel prices have increased by almost Rs 3 per litre in last seven days, despite international crude prices remaining at an all time low. The BJP government has touched the highest level of insensitivity towards people,” he charged.
He said Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat had warned the government and had urged the Power Minister to oppose the new pattern of calculating power consumption bills.
“The inaction by the government has now resulted in consumers getting bills of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 as against their previous bills of Rs 500 to Rs 800. The government needs to explain what has caused this steep hike in power tariffs,” Chodankar charged.
He claimed that the most deserving people, who were the beneficiaries of Social Welfare Schemes like Dayanand Samajik Suraksha Yojana, Griha Aadhaar etc, have not received money for last few months.
“People are made to suffer in these hard times of COVID pandemic and economic slowdown,” he charged.
“The local BJP government is also playing with the career and future of the students. The Government has till date not released any amount to the applicants of interest-free educational loan to the students who desire to pursue higher education in medical, dental, engineering, architecture etc. This has pushed the parents of the students into financial burden and panic,” he claimed.
“The faulty policies of the BJP Government have resulted in financial emergency in Goa and the State is now bankrupt. The people of Goa are disgusted with the BJP Government. People will never forget the hardship imposed on them by the government and will teach them a lesson,” he added.
