Electricity bill official, CM doesn't even have AC: Satyendar Jain

NEW DELHI: Defending chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's exorbitant electricity bill for the month of June, power minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said that his connection is used for official purposes. He suggested checking of power bills of MPs to see their usage for office-related work and how many had commercial connections.

"You may think the bill is very high, but go to the CM's house and see how many people visit him every day and how many air-conditioners have been installed. He lives in a room without an AC. You are talking about the area where he meets the public. Tomorrow you will say my office's power bill is too high. If you look at NDMC areas, there are about 400 MPs living there and running offices in their houses where scores of people meet them. Even they should change their meters to commercial connections," said Jain.

The electricity meter installed at Kejriwal's residence is a domestic connection, but used for official work. Power sector officials suggested it should be a commercial connection. This would lead to higher bills, as commercial tariffs are almost double of domestic tariffs. Sources said Tata Power Delhi was planning to send a notice to the CM's residence to change the connection to commercial and charge such tariffs with retrospective effect from April.

Meanwhile, Congress and BJP have both accused the AAP government of wasting public money for personal comfort. " AAP members had said they will not indulge in luxury and live like common men. What are they doing now?" asked DPCC president Ajay Maken. BJP leader Vijender Gupta also attacked the CM. "People don't know the real face of AAP ," he said.