New Delhi [India], February 9 : BJP MP Tejasvi Surya slammed Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, holding him responsible for the proposed Bengaluru Metro fare hike.
This comes amid the ongoing dispute between the Congress-led Karnataka government and the Centre, with each blaming the other for the proposed metro fare hike.
Sharing Siddaramaiah's year-old social media post in which he directed the reduction of metro fares, Tejasvi Surya asked how the CM ordered a change in the fare if he claims he does not have the authority to hike it.
"Where did CM get the authority to direct the reduction or revision of fares last time? If he didn't have authority, like he claims now, to fix or increase the price, where did he get authority to reduce or revise the price? The answer to your question lies there. Cut the drama," the BJP MP wrote on X on Sunday.
Tejasvi Surya's remarks followed a social media post by Karnataka Congress, blaming the Centre and the BJP for the fare hike.
"The BJP MPs' 'Emergency Exit' strategy on Namma Metro fares is pure hypocrisy. They claimed the Union Government had no role in the hike, 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? Shameless hypocrisy," Karnataka Congress posted on X.
Earlier on Sunday, Tejasvi Surya said the Karnataka government repeatedly asked the Fare Fixation Committee to increase metro fares. He further said that the state government proposed increasing Bengaluru metro fares by 5 per cent, stating that this would burden commuters and urging the state to conduct periodic fare revisions as mandated by law.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has maintained that no one has sought his opinion on the metro fare hike, noting that the Union Secretary headed the metro fare fixation committee.