# Sajad Lone slams Omar Abdullah over J&K power tariff hike 2026-08-24T16:52:59+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Peoples' Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone has attacked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over the recent power tariff hike, accusing him of misleading voters. The JERC approved a 6.83% tariff increase from September 1. Omar Abdullah defended the hike on Monday, saying his government never promised rates would not rise, only that 200 units of free electricity would be provided to the poorest households. Lone posted on X that the chief minister did not make comparisons with other states during the election campaign when seeking votes. He attached the NC election manifesto page and claimed the 6.8% increase amounts to over Rs 500 crore burden on consumers. He also alleged that promises of free 200 units have been restricted to AAY ration card holders, covering only about 2 lakh families, and calculated that the CM owes Rs 2,200 crore to the poorest consumers. Omar Abdullah countered that the hike is minimal after four years, compared to a 14% increase under previous governments. He said the step was a compulsion due to power sector losses and that rates will drop as losses reduce. The PDP, BJP and People's Conference have all criticised the move, with the PDP staging a protest demanding a rollback. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Greater Kashmir leads with the opposition attack, foregrounding Lone's detailed accusations and the manifesto promise, which frames the hike as a betrayal. Times of India leads with Omar Abdullah's defence, emphasising the minimal increase and historical context of higher hikes under rivals. The critical framing omits the scale of the burden Lone cites, while the pro-government framing skips the restriction of free power to AAY households. The gap between the manifesto promise and the policy delivered will shape the political fight. The JERC order takes effect September 1. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 government-critical - greaterkashmir.com (government critical) Leads with opposition attack, foregrounds alleged broken promise - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (government critical) Leads with CM defence, but reports opposition criticism in detail This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-24T20:37:22+00:00. Tags: Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference, Omar Abdullah, Peoples Conference, power tariff, Sajad Lone Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sajad-lone-slams-omar-abdullah-over-power-tariff-hike-cites-manifesto/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sajad-lone-slams-omar-abdullah-over-power-tariff-hike-cites-manifesto/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/