New Delhi: Congress leader and former Power Minister of Delhi Ajay Maken on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against Aam Aadmi Party and highlighted that the Kejriwal government under the guise of electricity subsidy is promoting corruption and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into it. Addressing the media, Maken, along with other Delhi Unit members, released a booklet titled “Kejriwal – Bijli Ke Taar Bhrashtachar aur Berojgar”
During his address, Maken, who has been making the headlines after he quit the AICC general secretary in charge for Rajasthan, said that ever since the Kejriwal government came to power in Delhi, thousands of factories have been shut down in the national capital because of high commercial rates and nearly 1.5 lakh workers at these units have lost their employment.
"Today, the industrial rate of electricity in Delhi is Rs 13 per unit and the commercial rate is Rs 16.9 per unit. Compared to the neighbouring states such as Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi has the highest commercial rate of electricity, because of this, many factories have been closed in Delhi and some of them were forced to shut down", said Maken.
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Accusing the Kejeriwal's government of looting Delhiites under the guise of corruption-free government and subsidies, Maken said "Arvind Kejriwal-led government gave subsidy money to private power distribution companies without any audit" and added that "if the subsidy money is given directly to the consumers, then domestic consumers can get up to 500 units of electricity free of cost for the same amount that the Kejriwal government is spending on subsidy."
Maken who was the Power Minister during the tenure of Sheila Dikshit explained that during the Congress rule from 2009 to 2014 there was 11.93 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector but now during the time of the Kejriwal government, the growth of the manufacturing sector has come down to 0.74 per cent.
Further attacking the AAP, Maken said, "Except Delhi, subsidy money is not being given directly to private power distribution companies in any other state. From 2015 till date, a subsidy of Rs 14,731 crore has been given to private companies. An amount of Rs 3,090 crore was given as a subsidy only in 2021-22." "The Kejriwal government registered the consumers under the voluntary subsidy scheme a few months ago. Out of the total 58 lakh domestic consumers of Delhi, about 37 lakh i.e; 60 per cent of consumers got the registration done. So, where are those 30 per cent" asked Maken.
