The demonstration near the Delhi Police headquarters was staged to protest police inaction on a complaint filed by BJP last week against Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, a number of officials of Delhi Government, private power distribution companies and DERC.
"We demand immediate filing of FIR against those involved in restraining DERC in 2010 from cutting the power tariff by 23 per cent. We will intensify our agitation if police do not file FIR in the case soon," Gupta said later.
A number of BJP workers including Gupta courted arrest.
In the complaint filed in I P Estate Police station, the BJP had alleged that as part of the "criminal conspiracy", DERC was restrained from cutting the power tariff as planned by the regulator in May. Dikshit has already rebutted the allegations.
On May 4, 2010, the Delhi government, using a special power, had stalled DERC's decision to announce the annual tariff for 2010-11 till it re-examined the demands from discoms to increase the rates.
The DERC, which was making last minute preparations to announce the new tariff next day, after receiving the government directive had indicated that it had planned to cut down the tariff by 20 to 25 per cent as discoms would have a surplus of around Rs 4,000 crore if the existing tariff was not changed.
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Although DERC was strongly arguing for a cut in tariff, the three-member regulator, following retirement and subsequent appointment of two new members, gave indication of taking a sympathetic approach to the demands of the discoms and hiked the tariff by 22 per cent in August last year and 26 per cent in June this year for domestic consumers.
The government's notification, stalling the tariff order was quashed by Delhi High Court in February, describing the intervention as "absolutely unjustified, unwarranted, untenable".
Gupta said the party will continue its agitation against hike in power tariff and "inaction" on the part of police to file FIR against the "guilty".