Delhi, June 3: After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, June 3, announced free metro and bus rides for female commuters "to encourage them to use public transport", the proposal has shocked many netizens as well as politicians. Kejriwal said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Delhi Transport Corporation (TSC) has been asked to make a proposal to ensure free of cost rides to women in Delhi Metro and DTC buses. Free Delhi Metro And DTC Buses Rides For Women Announced By CM Arvind Kejriwal, 2 Lakh CCTV Cameras To Be Installed.

The Delhi Chief Minister first hinted at such plan on June 1 and since then, netizens have been rife with an array of reactions. However, the best one came from the Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi and Bollywood director and poet Pritish Nandy.  Delhi Metro Asks Game Of Thrones Fans To Not Spoil The Finale For Others, Says ‘Use Earphones When You Watch The Episode’.

Reacting to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo's announcement, Nandy tweeted "Women in Delhi will get a free ride on buses and the metro. What a wonderful idea!. Will Mumbai emulate this? All the trouble we are going through for the construction of the metro will then be worth it," the Mumbai-based television personality wrote.

Replying to Nandy, Chaturvedi slammed AAP government for this move. "With all due respect, women in Delhi didn’t ask for a free pass to ride when they voted for Kejriwal Ji, they had voted for the safe environment promised to them," Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter.

The former Congress spokesperson's response prompted Nandy to ask, "Agree. But why not recognise a good step? Women’s safety is a much larger issue and it needs the support of the law enforcement agencies. And that, as far as I know, is not with Arvind Kejriwal."

This move was criticised by netizens who claimed it to be unfair and gender discrimination.

The AAP government's announcement also gets some thumbs up:

The latest announcement was also mocked by some netizens:

About thirty lakh commuters travel by Delhi Metro every day. Of them, a little more than 25 per cent of commuters are female. The percentage of women passengers on buses is not more than 20 per cent. Kejriwal also announced that over 2 lakh Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Cameras will be installed across national capital to make it safer for women. The announcements come just months before Assembly elections in the union territory.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2019 05:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).