SRINAGAR: BJP and PDP Monday deplored the proposed plan to impose a 20 per cent surcharge on peak-hour power consumption in Jammu and Kashmir and termed it an “electoral fraud” by National Conference, prompting CM Omar Abdullah to deny having any such proposal.Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (KPDCL) proposed a 20 per cent peak-hour power surcharge to Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) Thursday, sparking unease in the state freezing in the cold, with temperatures in Srinagar dropping to minus 3.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday night.BJP’s Sunil Sharma, leader of opposition in the assembly, said, “Omar Abdullah promised 200 units of free electricity to every household in the state. Instead of fulfilling the promise, his govt is preparing to loot people with an outrageous 20 per cent increase in peak-hour consumption charges.”PDP women wing staged a protest in Srinagar Monday against the KPDCL proposal. They were stopped by police from moving beyond the party headquarters.Condemning the police action, Mehbooba Mufti said, “Stopping the PDP women wing from holding a peaceful protest against the crushing rise in power tariffs is another continuation of the assault on our democratic rights since 2019.” Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also criticized the proposal. “This is injustice. The govt should know that Kashmir’s economy is already in recession, and these steps will be counterproductive,” he said.However, National Conference general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar Monday said KPDCL had made the proposal without consulting the govt and that it would “never receive the chief minister’s approval.”
