Tejasvi detained for trying to stage protest near metro station
What's the story
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya was briefly detained by the police on Monday near Jayanagar Metro station in Bengaluru after he again tried to stage a protest in front of the station. He was served a notice on Sunday for staging a protest at the Metro station without prior notification to the police. Surya has alleged that the Karnataka government pushed the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) to raise fares for Bengaluru's Namma Metro.
Fare revision
BMRCL puts revised fares on hold
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has decided to increase ticket prices by ₹1-₹5 across all 10 fare zones from Monday. This is in line with the annual automatic fare revision mechanism recommended by the FFC. However, BMRCL has now put the implementation of these revised fares on hold till further orders. The revised fares will be announced shortly.
Political intervention
Matter taken up with Union minister
Speaking to reporters, Surya said Karnataka government officials "demanded an upward revision of fares due to the state government's financial position. They also requested that we initiate an automatic annual fare revision process." "They requested that the Fare Fixation Committee not only revise the price upward but also implement an annual automatic fare-fixation formula." He said he had taken up the matter with Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri.
Official stance
Siddaramaiah says state doesn't decide metro fares
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, clarified that the Karnataka government does not decide Metro fares, as they are fixed by an independent FFC constituted by the Government of India. Siddaramaiah said blaming the state government for hike is "factually incorrect and deliberately misleading." He added that the government has sought intervention from the Centre to roll back this price hike. The FFC had recommended a minimum revision of fares to ₹11 and a maximum to ₹95, an increase of about 5%.