On the 2nd of January, Congress government in Karnataka announced a drastic increase of 15% in bus ticket fares which will come into effect from 5th January. These increased ticket prices applies across its four state-run transport corporations namely Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
While the ticket price hike add to the financial woes of the middle class and the poor people, the Congress government has brazenly defended it arguing that the move will raise an additional Rs 7.84 crore daily for the financially strapped corporations. However, the misgovernance and short-sighted election oriented policies of the Congress government has led to the financial miseries the state corporations are currently in. Notably, to court voters in its favour, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress announced financially imprudent schemes, dubbed as freebies, even against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s economic debacle for the same reason.
In the present case, Congress’ Shakti scheme, a freebie that caters free bus tickets to women on state-run buses, is being held culpable for the increased bus prices. As per reports, this freebie scheme alone is costing dearly to the public exchequer with an approximately Rs 417 crore expenditure on a monthly basic, significantly worseing the financials of the transport corporations. While the Congress claims to provide freebies to the women folk, as a family unit, the Middle class voters who fell for the Congress’ short-sighted promises are facing the brunt of increased prices of all basic amentities.
Earlier, the Karnataka Government announced to introduce what was dubbed as a “green cess”, levying Rs 2 to Rs 3 on monthly water bills for municipalities and corporations that were drawing water from rivers in the Western Ghats. While, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar dismissed the proposal calling it “bogus” and accused BJP of spreading misinformation. However, in an embarassing situation for DK Shivakumar, his cabinet colleague Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre was the one who came up with the proposal to introduce the Green Cess.
Congress Governments and their obsession to burden the people under their administration with different kinds of tax is unmatched. In its present tenure, the Congress government has also raised milk prices twice since coming to power. In July 2023, the price of milk increased by ₹3 per litre, followed by another hike of ₹2 per litre in June 2024. Additionally, the government has also increased fuel prices by ₹3 through a revision in the state sales tax. The tax on petrol was raised from 25.92% to 29.84%, while diesel tax went up from 14.34% to 18.44%. As a result, the average price of petrol in Karnataka now stands at ₹103.50 per litre, and diesel costs ₹89.40 per litre after price hikes.
Also Read: Toilet Tax, water cess, Samosa probe and more: Congress is making a mockery of voters
In a nutshell, the Congress government’s model of governance has been centered around promising freebies before elections, only to impose taxes and raise prices on essential commodities after forming the government. Economists, experts and the Supreme Court of India have repeatedly cautioned against offering freebies calling them detrimental to long-term economic health. Yet the oldest party seems to be sacrificing the Karnataka’s health for its petty political gains.
