Why Congress ‘free electrical power’ promise may grow to be its latest purpose for concern in Karnataka

On Wednesday, May 24, a video of an space villager roughing up a Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) employee in Koppal district in Karnataka went viral on social media.

According to tales, the villager turned enraged when {{the electrical}} division staff requested him to pay up his electrical power funds. He allegedly slapped the GESCOM employee after he tried to cut {the electrical} power present for not paying the bill.

Electricity officers are attacked by native residents in Karnataka after they acquired right here for meter finding out.

Residents says that they gained’t pay from electrical power now onwards as per Congress Guarantee

pic.twitter.com/T0sVUjD2Ux

— Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) May 24, 2023

The villager who was acknowledged as Chandrashekar Hiremat, a resident of Kukanapalli in Koppal, was arrested after the video of the incident went viral.

According to native media tales, the GESCOM employee Manjunath’s colleague recorded the assault on digital digital camera and filed a case in direction of Chandrashekar Hiremat at Munirabad Police Station. The accused allegedly moreover tried to assault Manjunath’s college for recording a video.

Notably, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred in Karnataka. In reality, since Congress took power inside the state, such incidents have grow to be an increasing number of frequent in quite a few components of the state, with native villagers refusing to pay their electrical power funds, citing Congress’ pre-election promise of providing 200 objects of free electrical power to every household if elected to power. Locals are demanding that ensures made by the grand outdated social gathering be honoured now that the social gathering has taken administration inside the state.

Last week, one different video surfaced on the internet, whereby a gaggle of villagers have been seen allegedly refusing to pay their electrical power bill citing Congress’ pre-poll ‘free- electricity’ promise. The video was acknowledged to be from Karnataka’s Jaalikatte house.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya shared a video of the incident on Twitter On May 15, 2023.

Villagers in Chitradurga refuse to pay electrical power bill. Exhort others moreover to not pay! They inform the bill collector that Congress had promised them free electrical power, as shortly as they acquired right here to power… Go take it from them (Congress), they’re saying…

If Congress doesn’t give a CM shortly,… pic.twitter.com/FNgGtwdPHM

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 15, 2023

In the purported video, the locals seen sitting on a platform beneath a peepal tree, are heard arguing that they don’t need to pay their funds since Congress had equipped them free electrical power if it acquired right here to power.

“We won’t pay,” a villager is heard telling electrical power bill collector Gopi.

“We will not pay. They (Congress) have said electricity is free, it will be free only,” one different villager responds. To this, the bill collector says that {the electrical} power can solely be made free if the federal authorities orders the equivalent.

Arguing with the official, the villagers requested him to talk to the Congress social gathering regarding the bill.

“You collect from them (Congress), not us. We will not pay the bill,” says one villager and asks others sitting there to not pay each.

India Today on May 19, reported the identical incident from the Chitradurga house in Karnataka, the place a lady refused to pay her electrical power funds. She maintained that the individuals are entitled to the pre-poll ensures from the minute they voted for Congress inside the present Assembly election.

“Let Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar pay our bills. They said they will implement the guarantee of 200 free units soon after the elections. So don’t come here. We won’t pay the bill. Once we pressed the button when voting, we were entitled to these guarantees,” the girl acknowledged, referring to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.

“We won’t pay the current bill. No matter what, we are promised 200 units of free power and we will have it. Even if the CM is not there yet,” acknowledged one different specific particular person from Koppal.

The Congress, which has misplaced nationwide relevance, was clearly decided to reclaim Karnataka from the BJP, which is why it chosen to adjust to inside the footsteps of the Aam Aadmi Party and pledged 200 objects of free energy to secure public loyalty and obedience earlier to the election.

The Congress made this promise when it began its statewide ‘Prajadhwani Bus Yatre’ in Belagavi ahead of the assembly polls.

Making the announcement at a celebration’s convention proper right here, KPCC president D Ok Shivakumar acknowledged, “This is our first dedication to the people of Karnataka to brighten every residence with mild. Therefore, he acknowledged they will be calling the scheme ‘Gruha Jyothi Yojane’.

Siddaramaiah, within the meantime, had added that 200 objects of free power every month would not be restricted solely to Dalits, backwards-class people, and minorities, nonetheless to every household with none discrimination.

While offering the freebies, Congress nearly positively assumed that if it labored for the AAP in Delhi and Punjab, it’d moreover work for them. The freebies promised by the social gathering to the populace might have tilted the scales in its favour, nonetheless might shortly flip proper right into a disaster for the Karnataka Congress in further strategies than one. Crisis, which the grand outdated social gathering decided to ignore on account of it was clearly decided to reclaim power inside the state.

Congress in Karnataka may use 20% of state funds to supply the freebies it promised sooner than elections

Recent projections steered that the annual worth of the cash payouts and electrical power subsidies that Congress chosen to produce to the people of Karnataka will be Rs. 62,000 crores.

Here, it’s moreover important to know what quantity of the state’s funds the giveaways would make up. Nearly 20% of the state funds is represented by the estimated sum of Rs 62,000 crore. The amount that’s maybe used for very important giveaways is similar because the funds deficit from the earlier fiscal 12 months. The fiscal deficit for 2022–23 was projected in Karnataka’s funds for 2023–24 to be Rs. 60,581 crores or 2.60% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

Even if Karnataka’s monetary system is predicted to broaden inside the subsequent years, paying the substantial freebies, which full Rs 62,000 crore, will undoubtedly have a unfavorable have an effect on on the state funds. In order to ship on the ensures, the federal authorities will each have to increase the gathering of taxes and duties or enhance borrowings.

Karnataka will flip into an ill-health State: Retired Director of ISEC

In reality, MG Chandrakanth, Retired Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), had alerted the media regarding the impending disaster Congress may be heading within the path of by promising such freebies.

“Government can raise urban property taxes, stamp duty, registration fee, tax on liquor, VAT on petrol/diesel. But they may not attempt this due to political economy issues. Hence the borrowings will increase,” he acknowledged.

Calling Congress’ ensures unsustainable, Chandrakanth outlined that the current fiscal deficit is roughly Rs 60,531 crore, and by together with Rs 65,082 crore, the overall fiscal deficit will go as a lot as Rs 1,25,613 crore.

The earlier BJP administration supplied a earnings surplus funds of 402 crore. According to the newest funds, Karnataka’s full liabilities at current stand at 5.6 lakh crore, with an extra 1.7 lakh crore anticipated to be borrowed.

“Karnataka which has up until now been an economically healthy State will turn into an ill-health State.  Increased borrowings will have a cascading effect on the present and the future government due to the piling up of public debt,” he suggested the media.

The state has a financial surplus, and income receipts are vulnerable to rise, nonetheless whether or not or not this is perhaps adequate to take care of the supply of freebies for a really very long time stays to be seen.

While the Karnataka Congress should be considerably contemplating of how one can deal with the catastrophe that its authorities might encounter inside the coming events, the resentment that is rising in quite a few components of the state due to the promise of free power should even be a matter of concern for the grand outdated social gathering.