BENGALURU: CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday urged the Centre to roll back the railway fare hike. “This fare hike must be rolled back immediately. Don’t make people’s daily travel another jumla. Let the trains run, not the people’s patience,” he stated taking to ‘X’.
The CM said daily wage workers, students, small traders, and the common man are struggling under rising prices. “When we increased milk prices to help our farmers, BJP shouted on the streets, and called it anti-people. But now, when the BJP-led Centre hikes railway fares, there is deafening silence. Why? Because this hike doesn’t help farmers or the poor, it only helps the BJP government fill its own coffers,” he said.
Meanwhile, AICC general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre for increasing railway passenger fare and toll on highways. He also said the hike also affects motorists on the Electronics City Elevated Expressway in Bengaluru.
He mocked Karnataka BJP for keeping mum over price rise and asked them to insist for the roll back the hike.
He urged PM Narendra Modi to withdraw the hikes immediately without burdening the masses. “From roads to rails to the kitchen, BJP is road-rolling India’s common man with unprecedented price rise breaking the backbone of India’s masses. The BJP government promised bullet trains, but gave us derailment, burning coaches, and broken hopes. While the tracks lie in disrepair and passengers hang on to life, they’ve silently hiked tolls and squeezed every paisa from commuters”, he alleged while addressing a press meet.
“If Karnataka’s BJP-JDS MPs and MLAs can’t raise their voice against Delhi’s loot, they should raise their hands and resign. You can’t sit in power and play mute while the state gets looted — either defend Karnataka or vacate your seat for someone who will,” he suggested.