YSRCP terms free bus scheme as fraud

Tadepalli, August 11: The coalition government’s free bus scheme is a blatant scam, ruthlessly deceiving women under the guise of free travel, asserted YSRCP state official spokesperson Putha Siva Shankar Reddy during a media interaction at the party’s central office in Tadepalli. 
He lambasted the GO’s restrictive conditions, which starkly contradict pre-election promises by leaders like Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, and Nara Lokesh, who vowed seamless, cost-free journeys across the state, including to pilgrimage sites. 
“With limitations to only five bus types—Palle Velugu, Ultra Palle Velugu, City Ordinary, Express, and Metro Express, excluding non-stop, inter-state, Saptagiri Express, Ultra Deluxe, Super Luxury, Star Liner, and all AC services, how can women feasibly visit sacred places like Tirumala without endless bus changes and days of travel?” Reddy questioned, highlighting the scheme’s impracticality for long-distance or inter-district routes.
Despite 15 months of preparation, the implementation falls short of successful models in Karnataka and Telangana, revealing the government’s incompetence and intent to cheat women rather than empower them. Reddy challenged Transport Minister Ramprasad Reddy: 
“From Srikakulam to Tirupati, how many bus swaps and days would it take under these rules?” He further defended former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s legacy, noting his bold merger of APSRTC into the government in November 2019, granting job security to over 52,000 employees despite an additional Rs 300 crore burden and clearing Rs 7,629 crore in dues, achievements ignored by the current regime attacking media like Sakshi for exposing the fraud.
Sivashankar urged women to realise the betrayal, emphasizing that true welfare demands unrestricted access, not hollow promises designed for failure.