Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took a swipe at prime minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party Friday after news United States capital, Washington, D.C., plans to make travel in public buses free of charge – forever. The Aam Aadmi Party boss – frequently targeted by the BJP and other political parties for pre-poll promises like free electricity and water – said ‘providing public services free… reflects a honest and sensitive government’.
The AAP leader also hit back at the prime minister and BJP for their ‘muft ki revdi’ jibes, with which he was attacked in July ahead of elections last month and this in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat; the AAP was voted to power in Punjab on the back of promises of free electricity.
“Washington DC makes public transport free. Should it be ridiculed as ‘muft ki revdi’?
No. Providing public services free to its citizens without burdening them with extra taxes reflects (a) honest and sensitive government, which saves money and provides facilities to its people…” the Delhi CM tweeted, with a screengrab of an article by the Associated Press.
The AP report was headlined – Washington D.C. is making public buses free forever.
Earlier this week AP said the American capital had suspended bus fares during the worst of the Covid pandemic but, recognising that ‘public transit (is) a lifeline for essential workers and that even modest fares could be a burden to them’, city officials plan to make the fare suspension permanent. Analysts told AP this would be a good test case on free public transit.
In July the prime minister, while inaugurating a ₹15,000 crore expressway in Uttar Pradesh, warned voters of what he called ‘the revdi culture’, or the exchange of votes for freebies.
Kejriwal had then hit back by underscoring that ensuring water, electricity, healthcare and education is accessible by all sections of the society is any government’s responsibility.
