Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ch. Anil Kumar said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind, who did not care about the poor construction workers when they went back to their native villages on foot when  the Covid-19 pandemic was creating havoc and deaths in Delhi, and the  Capital went into total lockdown, is now offering free travel to registered construction workers on DTC buses, which was only a ruse to  rob thousands of crores accrued  in the Labour Welfare Fund, for using in the  loss-making DTC. He said that there are only 10 lakh registered construction workers in Delhi while seven lakh workers are unregistered, and if the Arvind Government was really concerned about the construction workers, then the Government should bear the expenses of their free ride in DTC buses, instead of misusing the Labour Welfare Fund.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that there are very few buses of the depleted DTC fleet on the roads, and those buses are already overcrowded. He said that the Arvind Government’s free ride plan for the construction workers is to get some cheap political mileage, as the Government has not added any new bus to the DTC fleet in the past eight years.

Ch. Anil Kumar said that the common commuters are already burdened by the overcrowded DTC buses, and due to the hike in  the prices of CNG fuel, auto and taxi rates have become beyond the affordability of the common people. He said that the Arvind Government has only made hollow promises  of adding new buses to the DTC fleet, as its plan to buy new buses was mired in the purchase and maintenance contract scam, as the Arvind  Government wanted to get huge cuts in commission. He said that Chief Minister Arvind, who misuses the DTC buses by putting up his hoardings for personal publicity, should first add more buses to the DTC fleet, as otherwise, his free ride scheme to the construction workers, besides that of women, will benefit none.  

Ch. Anil Kumar said that it was time for a total overhaul of the aged DTC fleet and many buses have caught fire in the past few weeks, but CM Arvind has not bothered to strengthen the common man’s mode of transport, which should provide safety and security to passengers, particularly women. He said that the DTC buses are so overcrowded that women avoid DTC buses, and the purpose of giving them free ride has thus been defeated, and the construction workers will meet the same fate.