Opposition parties afraid of lodging formal complaints with EC on bogus voters: Prakash Ambedkar
Mumbai.(PTI): Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday hinted that the fear of retribution from the government might be preventing opposition parties from lodging formal complaints with the Election Commission over the alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls.
"It is quite easy to track down which officer added names of people that do not exist, or (submitted) incomplete information. However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) or Raj Thackeray's MNS seems to lack tenacity," Ambedkar told reporters.
He further said that merely crying foul of "vote-chori" won't serve any purpose without pursuing complaints with the poll panel.
The VBA leader claimed opposition parties might be refraining from pursuing the matter (regarding the voters’ roll) because they are afraid that the government might dig out their "past ghosts".
Speaking on the broader ideological battle, Ambedkar alleged that the RSS has still not accepted the Constitution, even after 75 years of its adoption.
Quoting his grandfather, Dr B R Ambedkar, he said Indian society could either follow the path of the Manusmriti or the Constitution, adding that these are two parallel lines that will never meet.
The VBA chief described the hoisting of a saffron flag alongside the national flag at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as a deliberate act, drawing parallels with a similar incident in Nagpur in 1950.
He alleged the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha were almost identical ideologically and claimed their current stance differed from the "masks they wore in the past".
He claimed the two organisations were part of alliance governments with the Muslim League in three provinces in the pre-Independence era.
Ambedkar said he would expose an app that reportedly reveals multiple entries in electoral rolls.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
