Panaji, Oct 2 (IANS): Aam Aadmi Party's Goa unit on Sunday alleged that the BJP government is extorting money from taxpayers by increasing tariff on water to purchase the remaining three MLAs of Congress.

AAP leaders reacted to the water tariff increase announced by the government from October 1, calling it 'extortion'.

"This water hike is nothing but extortion of Goan taxpayers to fund the purchase of even the remaining 3 Congress MLAs", AAP State President Adv. Amit Palekar said.

Palekar attacked the BJP Govt by calling the free water promise is just another hoax like every other Jumla created by them.

"BJP made a 'Jhooth ka vaada, paani ka daam jyaada' (BJP gave false promises and increased water tariff), just like it's fake 'Har ghar jal' certification, where there are no taps or have gone dry," Palekar said.

"It appears that Pramod Sawant has started recovering the money spent on purchasing Congress MLAs," he charged.

Earlier, reacting to Sawant's promise of giving 16,000 litres of free water, AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chaddha had said that former had tried to copy Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's scheme.

"He (Chaddha) had predicted that Sawant was not capable enough to make the scheme a success like Kejriwal. Hence anti-people hike has been announced soon after elections," AAP Velim MLA Cruz Silva said.

AAP Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas demanded an immediate rollback of the hike, along with the scrapping of the notification of an annual hike of 5 per cent.

"Announcing free water before elections and then increasing the water tariff after elections shows that the BJP Govt intended to cheat Goans to woo votes. BJP should stop its '40 per cent Raj' in all contracts, and use the taxpayers money to give minimum basic amenities to taxpayers like free water and electricity," Viegas demanded.