KTR under house arrest ahead of bus fare hike protest
What's the story
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has alleged that its working president, KT Rama Rao, and former minister T Harish Rao were allegedly placed under house arrest ahead of the party's "Chalo Bus Bhavan" protest on Thursday. The protest was aimed at demanding an immediate rollback of the recent RTC bus fare hike. The BRS had planned to march to Bus Bhavan and submit a representation to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) Managing Director.
Protest suppression
KTR detained ahead of protest
However, heavy police deployment was seen at Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad. KTR took to X, formerly Twitter, expressing his frustration over the police action. He wrote, "All I wanted to do is board an RTC bus peacefully... Look at the number of police officers deployed right now outside my housing complex!!" Taking a dig at the Congress government, he added, "Wish the police showed the same enthusiasm in controlling Hyderabad's rising crime rate."
Government criticism
TSRTC bus fares hiked by ₹10
The TSRTC had increased the minimum city bus fare by ₹10 from October 6. Passengers using City Ordinary, Metro Express, E-Ordinary and E-Express services will pay ₹5 more for the first three stages and ₹10 more from the fourth stage onward. The fare hike is part of the state's plan to replace diesel buses with 2,800 electric buses by 2027. KTR slammed the Revanth Reddy-led government over this hike, saying it would increase household expenditure.
Protest action
BJP, other leaders slam fare hike
BRS MLAs D Sudheer Reddy, Kaleru Venkatesh and Mutha Gopal also demanded an immediate rollback of the fare hike. To highlight their protest, they traveled on an RTC bus from Nampally Exhibition Grounds to the Telangana Legislative Assembly with common passengers. Telangana BJP State President Ramchander Rao also condemned the decision, calling it "atrocious" and "unwanted."