Jammu: BJP strongly criticised the Omar Abdullah-led NC government in Jammu & Kashmir over the recent 18 percent hike in transport fares, terming the decision as illogical and anti-people, in a press conference held at the BJP headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.
Party leaders said that instead of imposing an additional burden on the common people through a steep fare hike, the government should roll back the increased fuel prices, which would provide relief to transporters and protect citizens from further financial strain.
Dr. Abhijeet Jasrotia, Spokesperson, J&K BJP, and Yudhvir Sethi, MLA Jammu East, accompanied by Ved Sharma, All Cells Incharge, Ashutosh Mahajan, Convenor Transport Cell, and Roshan Lal and Kamal Preet Singh, Co-Convenors of the Cell, addressed the press conference.
Addressing the media, Dr. Abhijeet Jasrotia said that the fare hike imposed by the Omar Abdullah government is illogical, insensitive and a direct betrayal of the promises made to the people of J&K in the 2024 election manifesto.
Dr. Abhijeet said that instead of providing relief to the public, the government has chosen to burden the already struggling common man, which will have a cascading effect on the prices of essential commodities. He said that once transport fares increase, the cost of goods and daily necessities automatically rises, thereby pushing the common citizen into further economic distress. He pointed out that students, daily wagers, labourers and families with limited and meagre incomes will be the worst affected, as they depend heavily on public transport for their daily needs. He added that this decision will severely hit the household economy and disturb the kitchen budget of ordinary families as pricing of everything will directly shoot up due to the increase in fares, exposing the government’s anti-people mindset.
Dr. Abhijeet further said that if the government is genuinely concerned about the difficulties of transporters and the public, it should seriously consider rolling back the increased fuel prices instead of burdening the people through a steep fare hike. He said that such a step would provide relief to transporters while simultaneously ensuring that the common citizens are not forced to bear additional financial strain.
Yudhvir Sethi, in his address, questioned the logic behind imposing the hike and said that when the government has already collected huge revenues through increased fuel prices over the past one and a half years, there was absolutely no justification to impose an additional burden on the public. Presenting figures, he said that the government collected around Rs 1675 crore in revenue last year from fuel price hikes, while it continues to earn nearly Rs 140 crore every month through the same. Despite such massive collections, the government has chosen to squeeze the common man further by imposing an 18 percent fare hike, which clearly reflects its anti-people approach.
Sethi further said that the BJP will soon submit a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner demanding the immediate rollback of the unjustified hike, and similar memorandums will also be submitted to the administration through the offices of all Deputy Commissioners across Jammu and Kashmir. He warned that if the government fails to withdraw this anti-people decision, the BJP will launch a mass agitation across Jammu and Kashmir and will also strongly raise the issue inside and outside the Assembly.
Earlier, Ved Sharma introduced the subject matter of the press conference and highlighted the serious concerns being raised by the party regarding the impact of the fare hike on the common people.
