Chennai, Dec 28 (IANS): The AIADMK has come out strongly against the decision to install electricity metres for agricultural power connections.

Former Chief Minister and Chief Coordinator of AIADMK, O. Panneerselvam said that the ruling DMK was maintaining double standards on the issue of metering power connections for agricultural farms.

Pannerselvam said that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had announced one lakh electrical power connections for agricultural land and projected it as a big achievement of the government.

He said that after providing connections, the electricity department is now metering the connections and added that the farmers are apprehensive that this was a means to extract consumption charges.

The DMK, he said, was playing double standards as it had vehemently opposed the same while the AIADMK was in power. The former Chief Minister said that AIADMK government in 2002 under the then Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa had installed electricity metres to farm connections and the DMK which was in the opposition then, strongly opposed it.

The AIADMK leader said that even after repeated assurances by the then Chief Minister late J. Jayalalithaa, that metering was only for the purpose of recording the consumption, the DMK did not relent and conducted public protests against the same.

The former chief minister said that this is a clear indication of the dual nature of the DMK and its duplicity in issues concerning farmers and agriculture.