DMK govt hiking power tariff to cover up its corrupt practices: TTV Dhinakaran

CHENNAI: AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Monday condemned the Tamil Nadu government for increasing the power tariff and said that it harms industries and the common man. He was participating in the party's statewide protest at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai against the DMK regime over the hike in the electricity tariff.

"The present dispensation increased the power tariff for the third time since it came into power to mask its corrupt practices and mismanagement. The people voted for the DMK party to teach a lesson to AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami and his regime for indulging in large-scale corruption. But the DMK has failed to learn that lesson and it has been repeating the same mistake. The people would teach them a lesson in the forthcoming assembly polls," said Dhinakaran.

He also condemned the DMK government over its failure to fulfill its poll promise of creating employment for 10 lakh youths in a year. "The unemployed youths have become addicted to drugs and they have been indulging in criminal activities, and have turned into contract killers. This is condemnable," he said.

Dhinakaran added that although there was strong objection from the people, the state government had hiked the power tariff by 30% in 2022 and 2.18% in 2023, and now by 4.83%. "But the DMK government is blaming the Centre for increasing the electricity tariff. But that is not so," he claimed.

Meanwhile, the AMMK leader wondered whether the DMK had fulfilled its poll promises of installing smart meters and laying underground cables to avert accidents. He also asked, "What happened to the poll promise of converting the bi-monthly electricity bill to a monthly cycle? This government is only fixing the power tariff to rob the people," he alleged.