BJP MLAs Sirsa, Sharma attack Delhi govt in Assembly on fares

On a day the Delhi Metro fare hike came into force, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday asked the Delhi government why it had extended Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief Mangu Singh’s tenure if it knew the corporation was failing to meet its revenue targets.

Over the past one week, the Delhi government has been accusing the DMRC of failing to meet its revenue target from property development.

In Tuesday’s Assembly session, Sirsa countered this by asking, “Why did Arvind Kejriwal give a four-year extension to the Metro chief if DMRC is repeatedly failing to earn revenue from other sources?”

He also attacked the Delhi government on the power subsidy. “When former chief minister Sheila Dikshit had given a subsidy of ₹300 crore to private power distribution companies, Kejriwal and his team used to allege she was hand in glove with them. Now, the CM himself has given ₹4,000 crore to these private discoms,” Sirsa said.

Sirsa further asked why can’t the government give ₹3,000 crore as subsidy to DMRC.

Another BJP leader, Om Prakash Sharma, asked the Delhi government why it kept quiet since May this year and rose to protest only days before the fare hike was to be implemented.

“The Delhi government did not give timely attention to Phase III and IV. Had they been sanctioned in time, the need to increase the fares might not have risen,” the Vishwas Nagar MLA said.

Sharma added that the Delhi government is not paying attention to basic issues, instead it is going to those areas over which it has no jurisdiction.

Why did Arvind Kejriwal give a fouryear extension to the Metro chief if DMRC is repeatedly failing to earn revenue from other sources? MANJINDER SINGH SIRSA, BJP MLA