Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of opposing the AAP-implemented scheme in Delhi that provides free bus rides for women. On Friday, Kejriwal questioned why women shouldn’t benefit from free bus rides when the Prime Minister and other ministers enjoy free air travel.
Posting on his official X handle, Delhi CM and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently out on interim bail regarding the liquor policy case, posted, “The Prime Minister is openly opposing the free bus travel being provided to women in Delhi. Women want free bus rides to be introduced across the country but Modi-ji wants to end it. If the prime minister and her ministers can avail free air travel, why can’t women across the country get free bus travel.”
प्रधानमंत्री जी खुलकर दिल्ली की महिलाओं को मिल रही मुफ़्त बस यात्रा का विरोध कर रहे हैं। पूरे देश की महिलाएँ चाहती हैं कि फ़्री बस सेवा तो देश भर में लागू होनी चाहिए, मगर मोदी जी तो इसे ख़त्म करना चाहते हैं।
अगर देश के प्रधानमंत्री और मंत्रियों को फ़्री हवाई सफ़र मिल सकता है तो… pic.twitter.com/4eQy9ot9hN
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 17, 2024
The AAP chief also posted a video clip of Prime Minister Modi’s interview with a television news channel, in which Modi discusses the economic impracticality of offering free bus rides. In the video, PM Modi explains that providing free bus rides in a city with a dedicated Metro service to gain electoral favor diverts 50 percent of Metro passengers.
“If you have a dedicated Metro service in the city and offer free bus rides to women just for the sake of winning elections, it means that you are taking away 50 per cent of the Metro passengers. So, the Metro will no longer be a viable commuting option for people,” Prime Minister Modi is heard saying in the video.
He adds that making bus rides lucrative for passengers also contributes to traffic congestion in the city, as well as increasing vehicular emissions and environmental pollution.
“You are adding to the traffic woes while also bringing long-term harm to the environment by taking passengers away from the Metro. How will our Metro service prosper and the country move forward?” Prime Minister said in the interview.
The AAP government in the national capital offers complimentary rides for women, students, senior citizens, and individuals from the transgender community on state-operated DTDC buses.