Congress Accuses Government of Fleecing Cell Phone Users with Tariff Hike

NEW DELHI:
Congress has unleashed a scathing attack on the government over the recent hike in mobile service tariffs by three leading telecom providers. On Friday, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala accused the government of ‘fleecing’ 109 crore cell phone users by permitting these firms to unilaterally increase rates without any regulatory oversight.

In a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Surjewala condemned what he termed as the continuation of ‘crony capitalism’ under Modi’s regime. He revealed that, effective July 2024, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have increased their tariffs by an average of 15 per cent, burdening consumers with an additional Rs 34,824 crore annually.

Surjewala raised concerns over the government’s inability to regulate these hikes and questioned the role of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He urged for a response from the Prime Minister and outlined discrepancies in the justification for these tariff increases, challenging the transparency and fairness of the process.