The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has decided to introduce saffron-colored ST buses ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections in December.
The buses will be saffron-colored and it will be available for public use beginning in the first week of August. In response to the move, Congress claimed it was an attempt to impose Hindutva.
GSRTC officer K D Desai said, “This has nothing to do with politics. We are just changing colour. As many as 200 2×2 buses, 300 sleeper buses and 500 deluxe buses will be painted saffron. The production work has started and the buses will be out on the road by the last week of July or the first week of August. Earlier, one of our minibuses was painted saffron. This has nothing to do with elections or politics.”
However, Congress leader Hemang Raval said, “BJP is trying to play the Hindutva card by painting buses saffron. First, the BJP government should disburse the salaries of state transport (ST) workers on time. In Gujarat’s villages, there is no ST bus connectivity. Instead of changing the colour, good service should be given to the people of Gujarat first.”