Roll back RTC fare hike: Former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah

Jangaon: Former PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah has come down heavily on Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for increasing the RTC bus tariff. Speaking to media persons here on Monday, he found fault with the Chief Minister for transferring the burden of RTC losses on the people by increasing the bus tariff by 20 paise per kilometre. It may be mentioned here that the new tariff would come into effect from Monday midnight.

"The State government should bear the losses of the RTC instead of generating additional income by increasing the bus tariffs," he said. Lakshmaiah said that the State government should exempt value-added tax (VAT) on diesel consumed by the RTC, which stands at nearly 27 percent. The tariff hike would directly affect one crore people who were depended on RTC transportation, he said.

"K Chandrashekar Rao, who claimed that he had successfully run RTC during his stint as the Transport Minister in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, needs to explain why he had failed to do so as the Chief Minister of Telangana," Lakshmaiah pointed out. Further, he recalled that the Chief Minister had hailed the RTC in the Assembly.

"Keeping municipal elections in mind, the Chief Minister changed his tack," Lakshmaiah said, referring to the offers showered on RTC. Equating the governance of K Chandrashekar Rao with that of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Delhi Sultan who ruled from 1325 to 1351, Lakshmaiah ridiculed the TRS government for its anti-people policies.

Earlier, Lakshmaiah submitted a memorandum to Jangaon District Collector T Vinay Krishna Reddy demanding that the State government withdraw its decision to hike the RTC bus tariff.