Siddu hits back at energy minister

NT Correspondent

Hassan / Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly Siddaramaiah shot back at State Energy Minister Sunil Kumar Karkala for his comments about Congress’ poll promise of providing 200 units of free electricity monthly to every household.

Karkala claimed that it was an elaborate ploy by the Congress to burden the Electricity Supply Companies (Escoms) in various cities of the state by making them supply an inordinate amount of free electricity so that they collapse, paving the way for privatisation of the sector. The minister had made other claims as well, which Siddaramaiah rebutted.

The former chief minister while touring Hassan district said that people of Karnataka had been reeling under huge expenses thanks in part to electricity prices that had been hiked on multiple occasions. He added that Karkala’s claims were also not factual, pointing out that the minister had quoted contradictory figures.

“After coming to power, did the BJP government give Rs 6,000 crore or Rs 9,000 crore to the Escoms? Which figure is truthful and which is the lie? Sunil Karkala should let us know,” Siddaramaiah said, adding that as the CM, he had taken loans in 2013 to pay off huge debts incurred by the Escoms.

The LOP reasoned that investing in the electricity companies was not a burden, rather an investment, adding that renewable energy sources would also meet electricity needs. “The total electricity generated from renewable sources in 2014-15 was 4,855 MW (MegaWatt). By 2018, the figure had jumped to 13,500 MW.

By which mathematical calculation, do you call it a loss?” Siddaramaiah asked. He said that similarly power production by way of coal had also been up over the years, adding that it was erstwhile Congress governments that had put the state in a robust position as far as electricity is concerned.