TDP, Cong. trade charges on power deals

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 11. The Telugu Desam Party and the Congress traded charges over power sector transactions during an acrimonious debate over the steep hike in energy charges in the Assembly on Friday.

On the second day of the discussion, the TDP fielded Mr. G. Butchaiah Chowdary who launched a vituperative attack against Congress and CPI(M) members and gave a point-by-point rebuttal to their earlier speeches. He also touched off a furore by saying that if at all there was any goondaism it was under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy refused to respond though his party colleagues, Messrs Jakkampudi Ram Mohan Rao, D. Nagender and others got sufficiently provoked to rush to the Speaker's podium to demand an apology from Mr. Chowdary. The Opposition Leader pacified them after the Speaker, Mrs. K. Pratibha Bharati, offered to expunge unparliamentary remarks after examining the records.

Mr. Chowdary was referring to Dr. Reddy's accusation that the TDP had floated a "Telugu Goonda Sena" which had a women's wing as well. He said no such Sena existed in the party.

The TDP member singled out the Leader of the Opposition for attack by digging out all statements he had issued criticising the former Chief Ministers, Mr. K. Vijayabhaskara Reddy and Mr. N. Janardhan Reddy. He said Dr. Reddy's dream of becoming Chief Minister had been shattered by people and he would never get a chance to hold the office.

Resisting the temptation to hit back, Dr. Reddy asked the panel chairman, Mr. M. V. Krishna Rao, to clarify whether the House was debating his political career or the power tariff hike. He did not mind a discussion on his political life since it was an open book but wanted the debate to cover other leaders as well.

He reminded Mr. Chowdary about the allegations he had levelled against Mr. Naidu while sailing with Mrs. Lakshmi Parvati in 1995-96. However, Mr. Naidu ended these exchanges by advising Mr. Chowdary to confine himself to the subject.

Making a spirited defence of the power tariff hike, he said the latest quantum of increase was only 14.5 per cent. In contrast, the Congress Government raised the energy charges by 15 per cent in 1990 and 22 per cent and 18 per cent in 1992. After the TDP assumed office, it raised the tariff by 19 per cent in 1995, 32 per cent in 1996 and 10 per cent in 1999.

He said the protests against the power tariff hike could never be termed `a people's agitation' since Congress and CPI(M) cadres alone were participating.

Mr. Chowdary accused the Congress of dichotomy in its stand on the issue of power sector reforms. Responding to this charge, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy said the Congress was pro-reform but this did not mean supporting the revised tariff which would break ``people's backs.''

The TDP member said the accusation that the present Government had favoured M/s GVK and M/s Spectrum was unfair since it was the Congress Government which selected them and offered to purchase power at high rates. It was left to the TDP Government to reduce these rates.

He said power utilities in every State were going through a period of churning and revision of tariff with a view to providing reliefs to the consumer in the long run. But, Andhra Pradesh alone was facing an agitation against these reforms.

Earlier, noisy scenes witnessed when the Minister for Youth Affairs, Mr. T. Seetaram, flayed the Opposition parties for obstructing the Chief Minister and the Ministers during their official tours. Mr. D. Nagender (Congress) reminded him that the TDP had done exactly the same thing when NTR was toppled in 1984.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Sonia urged to back demand for separate Telangana
Next     : Educational website unveils plans for vocational
           courses