New Delhi, March 27 RJD MP Sanjay Yadav on Friday criticized airlines and private service providers for exploiting crises through surge pricing, citing the Pahalgam terrorist attack as a recent example, and demanded that the government take a firm stand against what he called a pattern of profiting from disasters.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Yadav invoked the Prime Minister's own slogan to make his point. "We all remember the slogan -- 'Opportunity in Disaster' -- but today this slogan has taken on a dangerous form," he said.
The MP specifically pointed to the Pahalgam attack, stating that airfare from Srinagar to Delhi – which is normally priced between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 – shot up to Rs 60,000-80,000 as frightened tourists scrambled to leave.
"Those who had heard the sound of bullets, who wanted to escape safely with their children – to exploit their fear and extract Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 from them is a clear example of moral bankruptcy," he said.
Yadav argued that this was not an isolated incident but a recurring pattern. During floods and natural disasters, he said, ticket prices multiply in the name of dynamic pricing, prices of essential commodities and ration also increase, ambulance services hike their rates, and app-based cab aggregators charge five to six times the normal fare under surge pricing.
"The more the fear, the greater the fraud," he said.
Questioning the government's role, the MP asked: "Where is the government at such times? What is its stand?"
He called the phenomenon not merely a financial problem but "a political, ethical, and social failure," adding that the government appeared helpless in the face of blatant exploitation.
"Do we want a society where floods bring service, or one where floods bring trade?" Yadav asked, urging the government to stand with its people in times of crisis – "not behind them."