Women comprise 46% of Capital’s 1.52 crore voters.
| Photo Credit: Ashna Butani
More than five years have passed since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government launched “pink tickets” in Delhi, allowing women to travel on buses free of cost. According to the government, around 11 lakh women avail of the scheme daily, and well over 150 crore pink tickets have been issued since its launch.
With the campaigns for the February 5 Delhi Assembly election gathering steam, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal (who flagged off the scheme as Delhi Chief Minister on October 29, 2019) has repeatedly claimed that if any other party assumes power in the Capital, all welfare initiatives, including pink tickets, will be stopped.
Addressing a public gathering in the Capital earlier this week, Mr. Kejriwal had said, “In the BJP-ruled States, there is no free bus travel for women. If you press the wrong button [on the EVM], free bus travel for women will also end.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah categorically denied Mr. Kejriwal’s claim at rallies they addressed in Delhi earlier this month. However, several women, who comprise 46% of Delhi’s 1.52-crore electorate, told The Hindu that they are worried that the scheme could face roadblocks with a change of guard.
Ajmeri Khatoon is a mother of five who works as a domestic help in Jangpura and travels from Bhalswa on buses daily.
“I earn ₹10,000 a month as a house help and am able to support my family because I spend next to nothing on the commute,” she said.
Ms. Khatoon added, “I have been saving ₹1,000 monthly due to the pink tickets. If the provision is discontinued, running the household would become impossible given the state of inflation.”
The 45-year-old Delhi voter said she is doubtful about the monthly cash transfer schemes for women, promised by AAP, BJP, and Congress, actually being implemented. “All I hope is that whichever party comes to power continues to let us travel for free.”
Rina Anil Kumar, 45, a Civil Lines resident, said, “Many women are scared that pink tickets will be stopped. It makes a big difference to our savings.”
Ms. Kumar, who saves ₹800 monthly from the scheme, added, “Many women like me depend on it to go to their workplaces.
Sunita, 30, a domestic help who travels from Khajoori Khas to Lajpat Nagar daily, said, “Men often pick fights with us saying we are ‘travelling for free’. We tell them that we did not make the decision; the government did.”
‘Men paying for it’
Ashok Kumar, who uses buses to commute to work daily, said, “They [the Delhi government] have made buses free for women, but we are the ones being taxed for it.”
Ms. Sunita said she is confident that the scheme will not stop, irrespective of whichever party comes to power.
Geeta Chand, 50, who travels from Trilokpuri to the ITO post office for work every day, echoed the sentiment. “Even if AAP loses the election, the scheme will continue because stopping it would be an obvious political misstep,” she said.
Wider ambit
With the election looming closer, the ruling AAP has promised to extend the free bus ride scheme to all students, which would effectively bring male students into the scheme’s ambit, as female students are already issued pink tickets.
Ms. Sunita, who has three children, two of whom go to school on buses, said, “If travel for my children is made free too, it will help us a lot. But we don’t know if they will actually implement the policy if they win.”
Published – January 25, 2025 01:57 am IST