The NDMC waived its pre-conditions and restored power to Raghuvansh Prasad Singh's 8 Ashoka Road residence in a few hours. We are not strangers. MPs do not run factories. I don't even use the ac, though there are two in the house. I refuse to pay surcharge.
Surcharge constitutes the major chunk of the dues that MPs have to pay.
Another source of the hike is the dissolution of the House in April 1999 and its reconstitution six months later. There was no free power for that period. Singh's fellow MP from Bihar, D.P. Yadav, blamed the power cut for the delay in finalising the report of the Food and Civil Supplies Standing Committee that he headed. With Singh and Yadav having their way, three other defaulters including Naval Kishore Rai and Ram Krishna Kushmaria have put off payments by shifting residence. There is no power in 162.