New Delhi : Delhi’s ruling AAP on Wednesday blamed the Modi government for the Delhi Metro fare hike and said it was meant to defame the city government.

Addressing the media here, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Pankaj Gupta and Nitin Tyagi said it was a shame that Delhi Metro had now gone beyond the reach of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ (common people) due to its exorbitant fares.

“Price hike in Delhi Metro is a well-planned stunt of the BJP-led Central government to defame AAP, which has been consistently opposing the fare hike,” Tyagi said.

Gupta said the BJP did not bother about the price hike despite several protests. The fare hike, Tyagi said, had made Delhi Metro the world’s second most expensive metro network.

The Metro lost over 40 per cent of its ridership following two fare hikes in 2017.

—IANS