Congress Wants Metro Rail Fares Lowered

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) official spokesperson Dasoju Sravan on Wednesday demanded that the Telangana government reduce the Metro Rail fares as they were out of reach for those belonging to the economically backward sections of the society.

Speaking to the media at the Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday, Sravan said that 90% of the people in Telangana were poor and could not afford the current Metro Rail fares.

He said that the Congress would take up protests if the fares were not lowered immediately.

Alleging that the TRS was responsible for the inordinate delay in the Metro Rail launch that also resulted in a cost escalation of up to Rs 4,000 crores, Sravan demanded that the state government bear this cost instead of burdening the public.

The TPCC spokesperson also wondered why the name of Mayor B Rammohan was not mentioned in the pylon of the Metro Rail project.

Addressing a separate press conference, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president V Hanumantha Rao, too, said that being the first citizen of the city, the Mayor should have welcomed the Prime Minister during his visit. "His absence surprises me," said the Congress veteran.

Rao also found fault with the Prime Minister for not recalling the contributions of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule in his speech.

"It is nothing but insulting the backward classes. The BCs will teach a fitting lesson to the BJP in the next elections," he fumed.

The Congress veteran also pointed out to the KCR family politics in play by referring to the absence of Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao from the Metro Rail inauguration as well as the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was giving top priority to his own son KTR, Hanumantha Rao claimed.