Smells like politics: Sheila Dikshit's take on AAP govt's free bus, metro for women proposal

New Delhi, June 04: Former Delhi chief minister and senior Congress leader Sheila Dikshit on Wednesday said AAP government's proposal to make bus and metro travel free for women "should be seen politically". She said that AAP is doing it for their own benefit. Delhi Assembly elections are due in next 6-7 months.

"It would be good if they can do it. But It is being done for their own benefit, not anybody else's, this should be seen politically," Dikshit was quoted as saying.

Months before the Delhi assembly elections, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal's announced making Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus and Delhi Metro services free for women in Delhi. Kejriwal made this announcement on Monday.

Safety or free transport? What Delhi women need

BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday alleged that the AAP's proposal to make metro and bus travel free for women is a "desperate bid to buy votes". Manoj Tiwari said Arvind Kejriwal is making such announcements because he's fast losing ground in Delhi. The BJP leader, however, made it clear that he's not against giving free rides to women in buses and the Delhi Metro.

Many leaders from opposition parties termed the proposal as a gimmick and added that it was a move to woo voters ahead of the assembly polls. Some leaders even criticised AAP for making it an outright gender issue by limiting the proposal to only women and not the poor who cannot afford metro fares.

The term of the Delhi government ends in February. The AAP, which swept the assembly elections in 2015, fared very poorly in the national capital in the Lok Sabha elections. Of the seven seats in Delhi, the party failed to secure a single seat and came third in five of the constituencies.