DELHI: During the Delhi Assembly elections, various free announcements for the common people are part of the election campaign by the ruling party and the opposition, but in a parallel manner, there is a nationwide debate that ‘tax payers’ money is being looted’. Actually, the success of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics has also created jealousy among political parties. They themselves promote Kejriwal’s free model, but also keep looking for grounds to prove it wrong. The so-called intellectuals are the ones who actually make noise about the looting of tax payers’ money. Why is this hypocrisy? – This is the big question.
In 2019, Arvind Kejriwal, while being the Chief Minister, announced free bus service for women. It was so popular that many states of the country implemented it in their respective states. These states include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh.
States like Uttar Pradesh copied but did not show any wisdom. Free tickets were provided only in UP’s state transport buses to women above 60 years of age. The policy of avoiding providing facilities in local and short distance buses did not give much popularity to the Yogi government in UP in the matter of free bus travel for women. In such a situation, when BJP talks about free schemes, the Aam Aadmi Party’s direct question is that BJP should first implement free schemes in the 20 states where BJP is in power. It is clear that Arvind Kejriwal’s free model has become a big challenge for BJP.
If we understand Arvind Kejriwal’s free model in the context of free bus only for women, then its effect is nationwide. Free bus service schemes for women started in Punjab and Tamil Nadu in 2021. Public pass was used in these schemes. Tamil Nadu has a zero ticket bus travel scheme for women, under which travel up to 30 km is done free within the state. This means that the scheme of free travel is conditional. Nevertheless, this scheme has been very popular in Tamil Nadu. During July 2021 to March 2022 itself, the number of women traveling by bus in Tamil Nadu increased from 40 percent to 61 percent i.e. 21 percent increase in women passengers. Due to this, the government increased the budget of 13.6 thousand crores to 17.3 thousand crores for this. In Punjab, from April 2021 to November 2022, the number of women passengers traveling by bus increased from 61 lakh to 1.12 crore. This enthusiasm among women was the highest in any state as compared to the first one year. It is being seen that this scheme is proving to be effective in increasing the participation of women in the workforce in Punjab. However, the participation of women in the workforce in Punjab is very low. The Congress government in Punjab had tried to implement Arvind Kejriwal’s model, which is being taken forward by Bhagwant Mann’s Aam Aadmi Party government.
The so-called free bus scheme of Aam Aadmi Party was also implemented by the Congress government in Karnataka. Here we are discussing only about free travel for women. In Karnataka, under the Shakti program, free bus passes are provided to women and transgenders in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). The declared purpose of the scheme is to strengthen financial independence and women’s participation in the workforce. Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has increased the bus fare by 15 percent. BJP is attacking that free buses are being arranged for women by putting a burden on men.
In Telangana, the Revanth Reddy government has announced free travel for women on the lines of Delhi. Free travel for women in TSRTC buses under the Mahalakshmi scheme started from 3 December 2023. In the first 11 days, 62 percent women were seen traveling. On an average, 11 lakh zero fare tickets were issued every day in a month. The success of the scheme can be gauged from this. Be it Karnataka or Telangana, despite accepting the financial pressure, the Congress has to continue free travel for women, as there is huge public pressure for this.
According to the World Bank report, women use public transport the most in India. Women use public transport for 84 percent of their travels. Arvind Kejriwal understood the importance of free bus travel for women and in 2019, Arvind Kejriwal government of Delhi was the first in the country to start the Pink Slip program. This initiative ensured free travel for women in DTC and cluster buses in Delhi. As soon as women board the bus, the conductor gives them a pink ticket worth ten rupees. Later the government pays this amount to the bus operator. Within 20 days of starting the journey, the number of women passengers increased by 10 percent.
In the last five years, 150 crore pink tickets have been sold and Rs 1500 crore has been paid to bus operators by the Delhi government. This amount is a direct saving for the women of Delhi. A Green Peace survey says that 55 percent of women have used this amount for household expenses. Nearly half of the women who travel free have kept this saving for an emergency fund.
Women are benefiting from the facilities being provided to them in the form of savings. Time is being saved. The participation of women in the work force is increasing. Lakhs of families are benefiting from this. In such a situation, if the government bears some financial burden, how is it wrong? If the government bears the financial burden for social change, for half the population or in other cases for the poor people, then in reality the government fulfils the purpose of its existence. For whom does the government exist?
Arvind Kejriwal has put forward principles like there is prosperity in returning and distributing public money to the public. Now, the ‘tax payers’ are not only the rich. Tax payers are also the common people. Everyone is paying tax through GST. Therefore, the elites should not consider themselves above the common people by harping on the taxpayers. It is the need of the country to connect the common people to the mainstream of development. If Arvind Kejriwal has made this the main issue of politics, then it has become necessary for the opposition parties to get a pass mark in this.
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