Tejasvi Surya detained during protest against Metro fare hike
Bengaluru: BJP MP from Bengaluru South Tejasvi Surya and Jayanagar MLA CK Ramamurthy were detained by police on Monday while staging a protest at the RV Road Metro station against the recent hike in Namma Metro fares.
Despite police issuing prior notices warning against protests at the metro station, BJP leaders and workers went ahead with the demonstration. Tejasvi Surya arrived at the protest carrying an empty trunk, symbolically targeting the state government. Opening the trunk, he remarked that it represented a “hollow Congress government,” drawing attention from commuters and security personnel.
Surya claimed “ Arresting me, won’t silence me! Shameful that the Congress government arrested me for exposing the truth: That this is a ‘Khali Trunk’ Govt. That Karnataka’s finances are broken, and citizens are paying the price through rising Metro fares and soaring costs. No more excuses. The Chief Minister must present a White Paper in the Budget and answer one question — Why are State’s finances weak, as you have admitted before FFC? Why is life becoming unaffordable in Karnataka? Why is the State increasing prices everyday? Fix the finances, restore shadow cash support to Metro, and Metro fares will fall. Anything else is deception.
Speaking during the BJP’s silent protest, MLA C.K. Ramamurthy alleged that the government was misleading the public on the metro fare hike issue. He said that even if a temporary halt had been announced, the fare increase must be completely withdrawn and existing fares should be reduced. He accused the state government of lying to commuters. Anticipating the protest, authorities had deployed heavy security at the RV Road Metro station. More than 20 police personnel, along with a Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) unit, were stationed at the site. BMRCL security staff were also positioned outside the station to prevent any untoward incidents.
The protest and subsequentdetentions have further intensified the political battle over the metro fare hike, which has already triggered widespread public discontent across Bengaluru.
