Not surprising if AAP announces free Moon travel, Delhi Congress slams Kejriwal’s freebies

Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitender Kochar on Wednesday accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi of making hollow promises. AAP government earlier made women travel on public transport including metro free and zero registration fee for Class 10 and 12 CBSE students taking the board exam.

Jitender Kochar said, “this morning, I was at a park and the buzz was that we won’t be surprised if he announces next that he will send people of Delhi to the moon or space for free."

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“For the next few months, all we’ll hear is Kejriwal make announcements,” he added.

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta commenting about AAP promises said, “Given how they didn’t get a single seat in the Lok Sabha elections , they are trying to overcompensate or cope with this, but these tactics can’t work,” The Print quoted him as saying.

Earlier, Delhi ‘Metro Man' E Sreedharan wrote a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia asking him ‘not destroy’ the efficient and successful public transport system for electoral gains. 

In a letter to Sisodia, the former DMRC chief also said free travel will "worsen overcrowding" and "lead to mishaps". 

His letter to Sisodia, dated June 20, comes days after the deputy chief minister wrote to the former, expressing "surprise" over his opposition to the AAP government's scheme.   

"I am not opposing Delhi government's proposal to bear the cost of free travel for women but objecting only to the concept of free travel in a metro. If we allow free travel for women, what about more deserving categories such as students, disabled persons and senior citizens?" he said in the letter.

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Sreedharan, who is also the principal adviser to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), said: "no metro" in the world has extended free travel facility to women exclusively.

He wrote that any compensation paid to DMRC by the Delhi government, is tax-payers' money and a tax payer has the right to question why only women are being given free travel.