BJP to protest against Cong's 'anti-constitutional attitude' in Bengaluru on Aug 5: BY Vijayendra
Bengaluru, Aug 2 (PTI): Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Saturday announced that the party will protest against the Congress party's "anti-constitutional attitude" in Bengaluru on August 5, on the same day when Rahul Gandhi will be leading a protest against the alleged incidents of "votes theft".
He said his party members will be protesting near the Gandhi Statue in Vidhana Soudha premises here.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will participate in a protest at the Freedom Park here on August 5 against the alleged incidents of "votes theft". The BJP had also sought permission from the Bengaluru police to organise their protest at the same venue. However, they were denied permission, citing law and order and lack of space owing to Congress's already planned protest there.
Amid the raging row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, has alleged that elections are being "stolen" in the country and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the "votes theft" by studying a parliamentary constituency in Karnataka.
Terming the attitude of the Congress party "totally unconstitutional", Vijayendra said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken this matter very seriously.
"They have lost faith in democracy. They have lost faith in constitutional bodies. They are alleging Election Commission. Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar have also joined their voices. So my direct question is if at all... if there are any allegations, how did the Congress party come to power here in Karnataka? How did they win all three by-elections?" he asked while talking to reporters.
Vijayendra alleged that Congress and Rahul Gandhi are not able to digest Narendra Modi's leadership at the Centre and that his dream of becoming Prime Minister remains unfulfilled. He alleged that Gandhi was misguiding the people of this country and also the state with his repeated allegations against the Election Commission. It's an insult to the voters and people of this country.
The BJP leader said if the Election Commission can be "manipulated" as being claimed, then how did Congress win elections in Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka? "Since we have taken this matter seriously, BJP, all our MPs, MLAs, MLCs, former MPs, MLAs will be protesting against the Congress party's anti-constitutional attitude. We will be protesting near the Gandhi Statue in Vidhana Soudha," he added.
Responding to Gandhi's claim that his party has an "atom bomb" of evidence against the Election Commission on poll irregularities, Vijayendra said, "If they have an atom bomb, they can't keep it in their pockets. If the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi have any proof, they should give it to the Election Commission of this country, or they can challenge it in the Supreme Court".
"Rather than doing that, creating drama here in Bengaluru, Karnataka, is not going to help them. They should challenge it before the Supreme Court," he added.
Further he said that if Gandhi was coming to Bengaluru on August 5, he should apologise to the people of Karnataka for the June 4 stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium which resulted in loss of 11 innocent lives, alleging that the incident happened due to the "irresponsibility" of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.
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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.
