‘Didn’t Congress say power will be free? Won’t pay bill’: Woman in viral video

KALABURAGI, TUMAKURU: A staffer of the power utility Gescom found himself at the receiving end when a woman took him to task and refused to pay the electricity bill citing that the Congress had promised 200 units of free power to all households. A video of the incident has since gone viral.

In the video, a woman can be seen telling the Gescom staffer, “We don’t have to pay the power bills. Didn’t the Congress say everyting will be free, free if they come to power? The Congress said no one has to pay power bills and took our votes. So, was it bogus?”

Villagers are refusing to pay power bills in some places.

When the Gescom staffer said he would have to disconnect the power connection if the bill was not paid, the woman questioned, “How can you do that when Congress leaders said not to pay? Let anyone come here, we won’t pay the bill”, she can be heard saying.

At a village in Koratagere taluk too, a woman refused to pay the electricity bill.

In a similar case at T Gollahalli in Koratagere taluk of Tumakuru district, a woman said, “Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar have announced free electricity, so let them pay our bills. That is why we voted for the Congress. They said we won’t have to pay electricity bills, gas bills, etc. You don’t come near our house, let them do whatever they have to do. The Congress government has come and they have taken our votes, you don’t have to come here. Let D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi come here, I will talk to them.”

The Congress promise of 200 units of free power has become quite a headache for power utility staff, especially in rural areas.