Aam admi slams Veerappa Moily's ride as 'publicity stunt'

NEW DELHI: Petroleum minister Veerappa Moily's Metro ride on Wednesday was meant to highlight petrol conservation but didn't really impress daily commuters. People say it's better if politicians travel in their cars and don't cause inconvenience to public by taking the Metro with their entourage.
"This is nothing but a publicity stunt. If politicians really want to connect with us, then Moily should stand in the queue and buy himself a ticket and leave all his security behind," said Smriti Mazumdar, a bank executive and a daily commuter.
People also went to the extent of saying that the Metro is for the aam admi and politicians should stay away from it. "I have only one question--did Moily get his Metro pass made if he promises to travel every Wednesday? People travelling with police cause inconvenience to people like us. The Metro is safe for politicians, then why the extra security inside the coach?" said Bhuvan Juneja, a businessman from Inderlok.
However, Naina Sejwal, thinks it is good that at least some politicians are thinking about using public transport. She believes this will make them aware of the problem that locals, especially women, face everyday. "Moily should also use other forms of public transport like a bus. It should be made mandatory for all politicians to travel via public transport so that they can also reel under the horrific experiences that some of us go through."
For students like Ritu and Kartikeya, conserving energy and creating hype over his Metro ride before the elections are two different things. "All government 'servants' should use public transport. The cars that are given to these babus should be taken away as it will save a lot of petrol. This should be easy to implement as most government offices are centrally located and well-connected by the Metro. They will also get a taste of what it's like to travel in a tightly packed Metro coach with hardly any space to stand," said Ritu, a CA student.
Moily has urged all government officials to use public transport every Wednesday. "Our policy-makers travel in cars and hardly get a taste of public transport. Nothing much has been done to strengthen the public transport system and it will be nice if the officials can understand the problems this way. They keep increasing petrol prices and parking fees but the condition of public transport is bad compared to the increase in population in the city," said Nikhil Sachdeva, a businessman from Punjabi Bagh.