New Delhi, March 2 Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Delhi unit president of the Aam Aadmi Party, criticised the government's decision to introduce Saheli Pink Smart Cards on Monday, alleging that this would deprive Purvanchali women of their rights.
Bharadwaj alleged that since every woman living in the city was already travelling free on DTC buses without discrimination, there was no justification for making smart cards mandatory.
In a video message on X, Bharadwaj said, "Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is making a mockery of the situation. She says that women will now be given a Pink Card instead of a Pink Ticket."
He added that until now, any woman, regardless of her native state and residing in Delhi, could board a bus and obtain a free Pink Ticket. However, now they will have to obtain a Pink Card, he said.
He further stated that the BJP government has demonstrated its discriminatory attitude towards women from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and other states.
Raising concerns about the expense of making Pink Cards, Bharadwaj questioned whether the government has clarified which women will receive the card and which will not.
Bharadwaj claimed that the government will demand a Delhi-based Aadhaar card to obtain the card, despite the fact that lakhs of women from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Purvanchal who live in Delhi still possess cards from their original states.
He alleged that the BJP government deliberately implements such schemes solely to deprive poor Purvanchalis of their rights.
While the government is portraying this as a major achievement, it is actually a shameful act of taking away people's rights, Bharadwaj added.