The BJP on Saturday urged Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal to set up an enquiry committee to examine whether an “advertising blitz” over free metro and DTC rides for women violates existing Supreme Court guidelines delineated for the Delhi government. The party also asked the L-G to seek report from the panel within three days.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta charged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of “squandering crores of rupees” from the state exchequer on publicity for the proposal.
Political mileage
“Kejriwal is in such a tearing hurry to take political mileage in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections that he has gone on an advertising blitz on the proposed scheme without even submitting the mandatory proposal to the Centre and consulting the Union Urban Development Ministry,” Mr. Gupta alleged.
“An advertising blitz is being carried out whilst no serious technical feasibility study has been carried out. He [Mr. Kejriwal] overlooked the fact that both the Delhi government and the Central government are equal partners in profit and loss in running the metro,” he further said. Arguing that it was tantamount to “criminal waste” of precious public funds on “ideas which have not been thoroughly studied” and approved by his own departments, the leader argued, the all around “large scale publicity” of free ride for women in the Delhi Metro and DTC buses was nothing but an attempt to “cheating the public” and, particularly, women passengers.
“One doesn’t know about the fate of the proposal but Kejriwal is extracting maximum political mileage out of the proposal...I ask the Chief Minister to put an end to wastage of public funds in this manner. On one hand, he is begging the Union Finance Minister for funds, on the other hand, he is wasting money from the precious public exchequer,” he said.
