Rajasthan BJP MLA backs farmers stealing power

JAIPUR/KOTA: BJP MLA from Ladpura, Bhawani Singh Rajawat, has said that discom officials who penalise farmers for power theft or overloading should be tied to trees.
A day after he made the statement at a meeting of party workers in his constituency, Rajawat said on Monday he stood by his remark as officials deliberately turn a blind eye to "big and influential" defaulters but harass farmers.

"There have been cases where farmers were booked for overload and forced to shell out arbitrary penalties of Rs 1 lakh. We will not allow officials to have their way," Rajawat told TOI on Monday.

Rajawat is no stranger to controversy. Following the demonetisation announcement in November 2016, he said the likes of Adani, Ambani and others knew about it (demonetisation) beforehand.