BJP’s Shahzad Poonawala said this on Karnataka government’s decision to increase bus fares
Shehzad Poonawala, national spokesman for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), described the Karnataka administration, headed by Siddaramaiah, as using the Congress party’s “khata khata loot model” to justify raising bus prices.
“This is the Congress party’s Khata Khat Loot model. Loot, mahangaee (inflation), and barbadi (economic ruin) accompany Congress wherever it goes. Following price increases for milk, gasoline, petroleum, water, and other necessities, the bus cost has also gone up in Karnataka today. Poonawalla informed the journalists, “They promised free bus rides.”
The Karnataka administration, according to Poonawala, chose to raise bus prices since the state treasury and coffers are empty as a result of frauds including the MUDA scandal, the Valmiki scam, and false pledges.
“The Karnataka treasury is empty, which is why this is being done. The Karnataka Congress plans to borrow Rs 48,000 crore over the course of the next three months. What if this were the case? They don’t have any money left over for growth since everything was lost to frauds like the Valmiki scam, the MUDA scam, or these false assurances.
As a result, they must borrow money or raise taxes on the populace since the economy has totally collapsed. This is the situation in Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, he continued, “Loot, mahangaee (inflation), and barbadi (destruction) accompany Congress wherever it goes.”
After the Karnataka government raised bus prices in the state-owned transport firms by 15% on Thursday, a commotion broke out.
R Ashoka, the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, blasted the state administration for raising the fares for buses operated by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
“The woman gets it for free, but the husband gets twice as much… Since this is a commission government, they are acting on behalf of the commission. This Friday, I’m going to protest. And on Saturday, the day after tomorrow, the BJP will stage a demonstration across the whole state,” he said.
In addition to denouncing the fare increase, BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraju said that the Congress administration was “looting the people.”
“This government is not doing anybody any favors. While distributing Rs. 2,000, they are deducting Rs. 20,000 from the urban population and more than Rs. 5,000–6,000 from the rural population. The people are being plundered by them. Women are receiving free bus tickets, while males are paying more than twice as much,” Muniraju said.
On Thursday, Karnataka Minister HK Patil said that a 15% rise in KSRTC bus ticket pricing had been agreed by the state cabinet. The ticket price hike will take effect on January 5, 2025.
“The company’s existing deficit is the reason for this 15 percent increase. This rise would result in a monthly return of Rs 74.84 crores, according to Patil.
