Governance in commercial mode: YSRCP

Hyderabad, November 23: Governance in the State has shifted from
welfare form to a commercial mode by heavily taxing the people during the past
three years and the Congress government will have to pay a heavy price at the
hustings, YSR Congress has said. 

“During the past three years, the Congress government has netted
RS 30,000 crores by increasing power tariff, RTC bus charges and withdrawing
subsidies on cooking gas and the situation is reminiscent to that of the
nine-year TDP-rule which was drubbed in 2004 and 2009,” YSRCP spokesperson
Janak Prasad told media here on Friday. 

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is following the footsteps of
N Chandrababu Naidu and has been passing on the burden to the people by
increasing fares and cutting down subsidies and his style of functioning is
that of running a commercial enterprise and not a welfare government. 

“YSR has infused welfare into all schemes and provided the
needed cushion in the form of subsidies while Kiran Kumar Reddy is toeing
Chandrababu Naidu line and the over-burdened people will reject Congress as
they did it to TDP,” he said. 

The State has made it clear that service charge on free power
running up to Rs 216 crores will be collected from the farmers or their
equipment will be confiscated. This reminds of Naidu’s special courts and jails
for default famers and TDP’s eventual defeat, he said. 

Power charges were hiked to nett Rs 1,570 crores and in the form
of fuel adjustment surcharge for second quarter of 2012 people will be burdened
by another 1,000 crores, he said adding that figures under Deepam scheme,
eligible for gas subsidy are being manipulated to save Rs 180 crores, burdening
the 1.80-crore consumers. 

“YSR on the other hand did not pass on the burden to consumers
when the Centre increased the gas price by Rs 50. He provided the cushion and
gave concession. Governance then was in the wrap of welfare and now it has
taken the commercial path by taxing the people heavily,” he said adding that
YSR Congress will take up people’s cause and fight it out. 

RTC during the past three years has collected RS 1,700 crores in
the form of service charges and has commercialised its operations and has been
levying variable fare instead of fixed charges. While Naidu brought RTC to a
near closure, YSR had sanctioned Rs 480-crore grant to save the institution
which is now back in the red to a tune of Rs 4,800 crores though the services
are used by over 45-crore commuters, he said.