Y.S. Sharmila terms Deepam scheme a sham, says Congress will stage protests against power charges hike

APCC president Y.S. Sharmila criticizes Andhra Pradesh's Deepam 2.0 scheme as a financial burden on citizens.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Y.S. Sharmila on Saturday alleged that the Deepam 2.0 scheme launched by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was a sham.

In a post on the social media platform ‘X’, Ms. Sharmila rebuked the government’s claims of filling the lives of the needy with light through the Deepam scheme and reminded of the “huge financial burden thrust on the people of the State through power adjustment charges”.

She said the State would incur an expenditure of ₹2,685 crore on account of free cooking gas cylinders, but it had imposed an additional financial burden of ₹6,000 crore through electricity bills. “People still have to bear an additional burden of ₹3,000 crore,” she said, while announcing that the Congress party would stage State-wide protests on November 5 against this issue.

She recounted that when the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) was campaigning to win the elections, Mr. Naidu, who was then the Opposition leader, had slammed the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government for increasing power charges nine times and had assured people of the State that his party would not increase power charges. “In fact, he had said that he would reduce 35% of the power charges,” she recalled.

Ms. Sharmila alleged that the former YSRCP government had imposed a burden of ₹35,000 crore on the hapless people of the State, while the current government is following the same route. She suggested that the TDP seek funds from the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre as it was lending its full support to the Modi government.