BJP 'twisting facts' to paint Congress as villain in metro fare hike: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

The CM has requested the Metro Corporation to bring down the fare hike that has been very steep, but it seems not to be in a mood to oblige

- LAKSHMANA VENKAT KUCHI

In what can be described as one of the worst advertisements for the Congress government in Karnataka, the steep fare hike for Bengaluru Metro rides has cost the Siddaramaiah government hugely in terms of its image and popularity among the Bangaloreans who are deploring the fare hike.

So much so that this evening, members of the Bangalore Metro Commuters Association held a protest at Freedom Park, demanding a full rollback of the hike.

One of the members of the association said yesterday its members were stopped when they were collecting signatures for a petition against the fare hike outside Metro stations. Over 6,000 commuters had signed the petition already.

But these protests are further damaging the image of the state government, which is trying its best to distance itself from the fare hike but is finding itself under the firing line for something it claims was not its doing in the first place.

The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested the Metro Corporation to bring down the fare hike that has been very steep, but it seems not to be in a mood to oblige. It has flatly refused to "bring down or roll back" the hikes that have been carried out after a period of five years.