In a rare meeting of minds, the ruling Aam Admi Party and the opposition BJP today opposed the Delhi Metro's fare hike which will take effect from October 10.
Hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed his Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot to look into the matter, the president of city BJP unit, Manoj Tiwari, too urged the DMRC management to review its decision for fare hike.
"Hardly five months after a major hike in May, this decision to increase the tariff is going to hurt the common people, especially students and professionals," Tiwari said in a statement.
Tiwari said the metro has not provided commuters with any new facilities or reduced congestion on-board trains to justify the steep hike.
Earlier on the day, the Delhi government directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) to put off the impending fare hike till its Transport Department completes an inquiry to ascertain whether the view of the city administration was considered while taking the decision.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the fare hike as "anti-people" and directed Gahlot to find a solution within a week to prevent its implementation.
The direction came after DMRC Chief Mangu Singh met Gahlot over the fare hike that will push the ticket prices by a maximum of Rs 10.
In his order, the transport minister said the proposed hike in metro fares was likely to affect a large number of commuters in Delhi and that the government was completely against any such move.
The AAP and BJP frequently cross swords over a host of issues including relationship of Delhi government and the Centre, Lt Governor's office and the three municipal corporations ruled by the latter.
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