Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers staged a protest outside the residence of Goa electricity minister Ramkrishna alias Sudin Dhavalikar over what the Arvind Kejriwal-led party described as “exorbitant” power bills. The protesters also voiced their opposition to the penalties imposed on electricity consumers.
The protest took place on Saturday morning under the banner of “Jan Aakrosh Morcha.” The procession marched to Dhavalikar’s residence at Nagueshi village in North Goa district, claiming that consumers were receiving inflated electricity bills and being subjected to steep penalties for surpassing their sanctioned power load limits.
REPEATED DEMANDS IGNORED: AAP
The protest was attended by dozens of people. AAP’s Goa unit chief, Valmiki Naik, alleged that repeated demands and an ultimatum to the power minister for waiver of penalties were ignored by the BJP government.
He asserted that the government is using the electricity department as an “extortion machine”, accusing it of burdening consumers by issuing inflated bills, imposing penalties, and introducing smart meters.
Sharing photos of the protest, AAP Goa said on its official X handle: “The voice of Goa is loud and clear. Give relief to the people, not excuses.”
Valmiki said that the AAP protest was aimed at mobilising public support to challenge the BJP government’s “loot”. He demanded an immediate withdrawal of penalties imposed on power consumers.
The AAP leader also claimed that the electricity department might get privatised in the future if the BJP retains power in the state. Valmiki said that such a move would be highly detrimental to consumer interests.
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(Based on inputs from PTI)
