‘Bengaluru Metro unaffected by Shakti Yojana’: Minister Ramalinga Reddy refutes PM’s statement
Bengaluru: Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has refuted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statement that Bengaluru Metro services will be affected by the implementation of the Shakti Yojana guarantee scheme, which gives women free travel facility in buses, calling it unscientific.
Reddy, in a statement issued on Monday, clarified that between June 11, 2023, when the Shakti Yojana was implemented in Karnataka, and May 20, 2024 up to 67.34 crore women in Bengaluru had traveled using the benefits of the scheme. Presenting the figures related to the Metro passengers, the minister said that the number of passengers had hiked from 1.65 crore in January 2023 to 2 crore in April 2024, which was a 30 per cent increase over a period of 15 months. The revenue of Bengaluru Metro had also increased from Rs 39.15 crore to Rs 51.71 crore during said period. There was an average increase of 35 lakh in the monthly passengers in the Bengaluru Metro from 2023 to 2024, while the revenue had seen an increase of Rs 1.1 crore, Reddy added in the statement.
Pointing that these figures show the Metro unaffected by the new transport scheme of the state government but thriving in spite of the Shakti Yojana, the minister questioned the validity of the PM’s statement.
Reddy added that the transport system had grown, with an addition of new buses and staff members, following the implementation of the guarantee scheme, and was receiving positive feedback from the media. All of these were evidence to the success of the Shakti Yojana, the Transport Minister has said.
Wondering openly if the PM’s statement was made with an intention of demeaning the successful implementation of the Shakti Yojana by the Congress government or if it was due to lack of data, Reddy added that it was unbecoming of the PM to criticize the project that had strengthened the transport system as well as the women passengers. The minister, however, has critically stated that it would also be unfair to blame PM Modi for making a prejudiced statement as Modi was trying desperately to develop an illusion among the people that the projects of only the BJP were beneficial for the people and was providing false information on Congress projects. Expressing confidence in the people and their knowledge about things that mattered, Reddy said governments should focus on working for the benefit of the people rather than indulging in petty politics.
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
