Voicing its outrage over the government's decision to hike railway passenger fares and freight charges, the Aam Aadmi Party today said the common man of the country felt "cheated" today as the BJP had promised to bring down prices and help them get rid of hardships.
"AAP is shocked over the steep hike in passenger fares and freight charges announced by the Railways Ministry. This happens to be the second hike in eight months and the steepest in the recent past.
"The railways, which ferries 25 million people everyday, is the lifeline of the country and the principal mode of conveyance for the 'aam aadmi'. The common man of the country feels cheated today as the BJP had promised to bring down prices...," the party said in a statement.
It alleged that while burdening the common man with fare hike, the NDA government did not take the fact into account that the average railway passenger is poor and has missed out on the benefits of two decades of surging growth.
"What worries more is the fact that 6.5 per cent hike in freight charges will further push the inflationary pressure and prices of the essential commodities will further go up. It is baffling that the government did not even wait for the regular Railways budget and hiked the fare," the party said.
The AAP also said another "worrying" news has come from the DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission).
"The DERC has indicated that the electricity tariff is likely to go up in Delhi from the month of August. The Aam Aadmi Party is of the firm view that the average electricity consumer is being overcharged by the discoms.
"The discom audit ordered by the AAP government will expose their irregularities and the tariff will automatically come down. The Aam Aadmi Party will oppose any proposal of electricity tariff hike in Delhi," it said.
