"Khata khat loot model of Congress": BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla slams Karnataka govt's decision to hike bus fare

New Delhi [India], January 3 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala on Friday slammed the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government's decision to hike bus fares, calling it the Congress party's "khata khata loot model".
"This is the Khata Khat Loot model of the Congress party. Wherever Congress goes, loot, mahangaee (inflation), and barbadi (destruction) of the economy follow. Today, in Karnataka, after water, petrol, diesel, milk, and all kinds of prices have been increased, even the bus fare has been raised. They promised free bus rides," Poonawalla told ANI.
Poonawala claimed that the Karnataka government decided to hike bus fares because the state treasury is empty and the coffers are empty due to scams like the MUDA scam, Valmiki scam and fake guarantees.
"This is being done because the treasury of Karnataka is empty. In the next three months, Karnataka Congress is going to borrow Rs 48,000 crore. Imagine, this is the situation! They have no money left for development; everything has been wiped off in scams like the MUDA scam, Valmiki scam, or in these fake guarantees. Therefore, the economy has completely crashed, and they need to borrow or tax the people more. This is the story in Himachal and Telangana. So, wherever Congress goes, it brings loot, mahangaee (inflation), and barbadi (destruction) along with it," he said.
A row erupted after the Karnataka government on Thursday increased the bus fares in the state-owned transport corporations by 15 per cent.
Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, slammed the state government for bus fare hike of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses.
"It is free for the wife but double for the husband... They are doing this for the commission because this is a commission government... Tomorrow (Friday) I will protest... And BJP will carry out a state-wide protest the day after tomorrow (Saturday)," he said.
BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraju also condemned the fare hike and accused the Congress government of" looting the people.
"There is no way that this government is doing any favour. They are giving Rs. 2,000 but they are pulling back Rs. 20,000 from the urban people and more than Rs. 5,000-6,000 are being pulled back from the rural people... They are looting the people... They are giving bus rides for free to the ladies but the men are being charged more than double," Muniraju said.
Karnataka Minister HK Patil on Thursday announced that the state cabinet approved a 15 per cent increase in ticket prices for KSRTC buses. The increase in the ticket price will be effective from January 5, 2025.
"This 15 pc has been raised because of the deficit that the corporation is currently facing. With this increase, there will be a return of Rs 74.84 crores every month," Patil said. (ANI)