New Delhi, October 2026: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday criticised the BJP-led Delhi government over the mandatory requirement of pink passes for women seeking to avail free travel on city buses, alleging that the new system had caused inconvenience and forced women to stand in long queues.
Bharadwaj said women had been struggling to obtain the passes despite spending hours in queues. He accused the BJP of making citizens stand in lines even for services that were previously easily accessible.
“Whether it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, troubling the public seems to have become their habit,” Bharadwaj said, according to an AAP statement.
He alleged that the government had made people stand in queues for several basic services and claimed that thousands of women in Delhi had been deprived of pink passes after their names were allegedly removed from electoral rolls.
In a post on X, Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP governments had turned simple services that were already available into processes requiring people to stand in queues.
He referred to demonetisation, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), pink cards and LPG cylinders while accusing the government of creating difficulties for people.
“Whether it is PM Modi or CM Rekha Gupta, they have made the people of the country stand in queues for every simple service that was already available,” Bharadwaj said.
He alleged that the objective was to keep people occupied with their daily difficulties rather than allow them to demand new facilities from the government.
The AAP leader also raised concerns over the implementation of the pink-pass system in Delhi. He said women had earlier been able to travel free on Delhi buses without requiring any pass.
“Earlier, all women in Delhi could travel free on buses and no pass was required. Now, 50 per cent of the people have had their votes deleted, and their pink passes will never be made. The rest have been made to stand in queues,” he alleged.
Bharadwaj also accused the government of treating women who live outside Delhi but travel to the national capital for work differently.
He specifically referred to women residing in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, including those commuting from Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram and Sonipat, alleging that they were facing discriminatory treatment under the new arrangements.
The AAP leader’s remarks came amid growing complaints, according to the party, from women facing difficulties in obtaining pink passes needed to continue accessing free bus travel.
The issue has become another point of political criticism between the AAP and the BJP in Delhi, with the opposition party questioning the implementation of the new system and its impact on women commuters.
