Bengaluru, Feb 7 (LatestNewsX) Commenting on the Bengaluru Metro fare hike row, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday said that the Secretary from the Union government was the head of the Metro fare fixation committee, and no one has asked for his opinion on the fare hike.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “How is the state government responsible for the Metro fare hike? The fare fixation committee is headed by a secretary appointed by the Centre. You can make me responsible for the hike if I have signed any file relating to it. No file on the fare hike has come to me. I will discuss it with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials on Monday. We don’t want to trouble the common people. I will review the financial situation.”
He was replying to criticism from the BJP that the state government was responsible for the fare hike.
Asked about the BJP’s comments that the fares were going up in view of the state government not giving financial assistance to BMRCL, the Deputy CM said, “Let the BJP first say what it has done for the state?”
Asked about Bengaluru MP Tejaswi Surya’s statement on how Metro fares could go up without the state government’s approval, he said, “Poor guy, he doesn’t have enough experience. He is limited to only tweets and statements before the media. Let him not blabber. Has he got anything from the Centre for the state? Let’s not talk about an empty trunk.”
However, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya has announced that, following his discussion with Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the proposed Bengaluru Metro fare hike has been temporarily suspended.
The BJP MP stated that he had requested the Union Minister’s immediate intervention regarding the planned fare increase for the Bengaluru Metro, scheduled to take effect on February 9.
Surya noted, “Bengaluru already has the highest Metro fares in India. Another increase would make public transport inaccessible for many citizens and undermine its purpose.”
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