The Aryavarth Express
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), February 9:
Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicising the Bengaluru metro fare hike issue, stating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already written to the Centre requesting that fares not be increased.
Addressing reporters in Kalaburagi, Rao said the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is jointly run by the state and central governments and functions as an independent corporation. He said the chief minister had formally urged the Union government, which has an equal stake in Namma Metro, to intervene against the proposed hike.
“Unnecessarily, BJP leaders want to politicise everything. The metro is run by both the state and central governments and is a separate corporation. The CM has already written to the Government of India not to increase the fare. Now, Tejasvi Surya is saying fares will not be increased — let there be an official order, then we will see,” Rao said.
Responding to speculation about a possible change in the chief ministership, Rao dismissed reports of internal confusion within the Congress, stating that the decision rests solely with the party’s high command.
“There is no confusion. It is up to the party high command. What Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi decide is final. That is what the CM and Deputy CM have also said,” he added.
Rao’s remarks came a day after BJP MP Tejasvi Surya accused the Congress government of misrepresenting the fare hike issue, claiming that the proposal for an upward revision originated from the state government due to its financial constraints.
Surya alleged that Karnataka’s weak financial position had led officials to seek an automatic annual fare revision mechanism, stating that the state could no longer continue the “shadow cash support” it had provided in the past. He also claimed that while a 105 per cent fare hike was initiated in 2025, the now-halted proposal would have resulted in only a marginal increase of 1 to 5 rupees per ticket.
Emphasising the need to keep public transport affordable, Surya urged the state government to initiate a legally mandated fare rationalisation process. “If metro travel becomes prohibitively expensive, the very purpose of public transport will be undermined,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, BMRCL announced that the proposed fare hike scheduled to take effect from February 9 has been kept on hold. In an official statement, the corporation said that the decision on revised fares would be communicated after a review by the BMRCL board.
BMRCL is a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, entrusted with the implementation and operation of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project. Currently, Bengaluru has over 97 kilometres of operational metro lines, with two corridors in service and a third line under development.
