Bengaluru Metro Fare Hike: Congress and BJP Engage in War of Words

The war of words over the Bengaluru Metro fare hike intensified on Sunday, with Karnataka’s ruling Congress taking a dig at the BJP after Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya claimed the Union government had put the hike on hold. The BJP leader, however, doubled down by conducting an outreach with metro commuters and blamed the “financially hollow” state government for the fare hike. This came even as Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) sources maintained that there won’t be a reversal in the fare hike applicable from Monday, February 9. “Till now, there is no communication on a rollback,” an official said. The two parties have been at loggerheads ever since an annual metro fare revision of 5 per cent was announced last week. The revision will see fares increase between Rs 1 and Rs 5, depending on trip duration. The Congress seemed to fire first, accusing Surya of “shameless hypocrisy”. Pointing out the BJP MP’s stance that the Centre had no role in the metro fare hike, it said in a post on X, “..yet now they’re pleading with Delhi to temporarily hold it. If they don’t have the power to set the price, how do they suddenly have the power to pause it?” In another post, the Congress said that BJP MPs cannot wash their hands of the fare hike and then claim influence over such decisions when public anger rises. Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge hit out at BJP leaders, saying that if the metro line was extended by one meter, “Modi was responsible, but if the metro fare is hiked by one rupee, the state government is responsible”. “This is the logic used by BJP leaders,” he said. Accusing the BJP of indulging in a “politics of lies”, Kharge said there were reports of the Centre withholding the hike. “Doesn’t this prove that the subject of fare hike rests on central government decisions?” he said. The BJP has highlighted the 2024 request to the Centre to form the fare fixation committee (FFC), while alleging that the state was behind the hike. Tejasvi Surya’s letter to Manohar Lal Khatter Surya, who sported a printed t-shirt during his campaign against the hike, said the Congress seeking the constitution of the FFC was “the undeniable truth”. “It sought an upward fare revision to reduce the burden on state finances. It even pushed for annual fare hikes. They cannot run away from this responsibility now,” he said. Surya said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah “must stop evading responsibility”, adding that the only honest course was to ask for a fresh FFC and correct the “injustice” to commuters. The MP had petitioned Manohar Lal Khatter, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, urging him to put the annual hike on hold. He had also sought the formation of a new FFC to rationalise the fares. According to BMRCL sources, although statements were issued regarding the fare hike reversal, there was no official communication yet. “As per the Metro Railways (Operation & Maintenance) Act 2002, the hike determined by the FFC will apply,” a source said.