Bengaluru, Nov 5 (IANS) Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Legislative Assembly Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government over the hike in bus fares, alleging that the government was making life increasingly expensive for the common people.
It can be noted that Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh on Wednesday announced an increase in ticket fares of all four state-run road transport corporations — the BMTC, the KSRTC, the NWKRTC, and the KKRTC, with the revised rates coming into effect from midnight. For general transport services, which account for the maximum number of passengers, the increase has been limited to Rs 9 to Rs 68 for longer journeys. In Vega Doota services, the maximum increase will be Rs 18 for 10 stages. The KSRTC network has around 150 fare stages.
In a statement, Ashoka took a dig at the Congress party’s five guarantees, claiming that the Karnataka government had introduced a “sixth guarantee” of guaranteed fare hikes.
Addressing Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Ashoka alleged that after a 15 per cent hike in January 2025, the government has now imposed another 35 per cent increase in BMTC fares and a 23 per cent hike across other Road Transport Corporations (RTCs).
“The numbers expose the government’s hypocrisy,” he said, pointing out that the minimum Bengaluru Metro Transport Corporation (BMTC) fare had increased from Rs 6 to Rs 10, amounting to a 65 per cent hike, while the maximum fare had risen from Rs 35 to Rs 45.
Ashoka said ordinary commuters, students, daily-wage workers and salaried families would be forced to bear the burden of what he termed the Congress government’s failures.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Ashoka questioned whether the fare hikes represented his model of guaranteeing economic justice.
“The Karnataka government is busy celebrating its guarantees while quietly emptying the pockets of the very people it claims to stand for,” he alleged.
“Free guarantees in advertisements and expensive public transport in reality. Empty promises at the top and an ever-growing burden on the common man,” Ashoka said.
He maintained that Karnataka’s commuters deserved affordable public transport and not what he described as another “Congress tax” on their daily lives.
Urging CM Shivakumar to stop making people pay for the government’s alleged mismanagement, Ashoka said the people of Karnataka were not an ATM for the Congress government.
Ashoka said, “Even before people could recover from the shock of the increase in milk and curd prices, the government led by CM Shivakumar has imposed another financial burden on the common people by increasing bus fares by 35 per cent.”
“The Congress government can take pride in this record-level fare hike in the history of the state as an achievement worthy of being entered in the Book of Records. Price rise on one hand and an increase in travel fares on the other. Is making people’s lives difficult the achievement of your administration, Mr D.K. Shivakumar?” Ashoka questioned.
“The BJP strongly condemns this anti-people decision of the Congress government, which, in the name of pro-people governance, is putting scissors to the pockets of the people. Even if you cannot provide facilities to the people, at least do not increase the burden on their lives,” Ashoka demanded.
–IANS
mka/dpb
