AAP workers campaign for free electricity in Gujarat

If free electricity can be provided in two states of the country, then why not in Gujarat Gadhvi said.The AAPs demand is that the BJP government should stop looting people of the state and start providing electricity for free or at least make it cheaper, the partys state unit president Gopal Italia said.

Activists of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have taken to streets across Gujarat demanding free or cheaper electricity from the BJP government in the state, citing the Delhi model under which 200 units of power is provided free of cost.

As the party looks to contest for all 182 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections due in December, it has taken up free electricity as an issue to attract voters and challenge the ruling BJP. The party's "Muft Bilji Andolan" (free electricity campaign), which was launched on June 15, will continue till June 26. AAP workers have been organising mashal yatras, padyatras and bicycle rallies as part of the 15-day campaign.

According to party sources, the party's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be in Gujarat during the conclusion of the campaign.

''People of Gujarat are being informed that 200 units of electricity is being provided free of cost in Delhi by the Kejriwal government and electricity is available 24 hours all over Delhi,'' the party's newly-appointed national joint secretary Isudan Gadhvi said on Wednesday.

People have been assured that the AAP will provide free electricity like in Delhi if it is voted to power, he said.

''Despite the BJP being in power for 27 years in Gujarat, electricity here is the most expensive in the country. If free electricity can be provided in two states of the country, then why not in Gujarat?'' Gadhvi said.

The AAP's demand is that the BJP government should stop looting people of the state and start providing electricity for free or at least make it cheaper, the party's state unit president Gopal Italia said. The campaign had elicited a huge response from the public and unnerved the BJP, he claimed, adding that several AAP workers had been detained during the campaign and many had received threat calls.

The issue has already attracted sharp criticism from the BJP, with the party's state president CR Paatil having called Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal a ''mahathug'' for offering such freebies.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)