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Day after talks, truckers begin to resume services
Taxi operators in parts of Rajasthan and Punjab, who had extended their support to the protests, refused to call off the strike
Truck drivers, who went on a nationwide strike to protest against new stringent penalties for hit-and-run offences, have started resuming work and normalcy will return in a day or two, truckers’ body All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) said on Wednesday, even as taxi operators in some states decided to continue with the agitation till the new provisions were withdrawn.
AIMTC general secretary N K Gupta, who met Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Tuesday, said the strike by truck drivers in some places was a spontaneous reaction to the new laws and “the drivers need not worry now and should join the work and contribute to the growth of the economy”.
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To be sure, the strike was not called by AIMTC but by smaller unions at the state level that have links to it.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Gupta said: “We had not given any strike call...striking drivers are coming back to work and normal operations will be restored in one or two days.”
His remarks came a day after protests by truck drivers, which began on Monday, led to blockades on major highways and disrupted delivery of services. It also triggered panic buying of fuel over fears of stock shortage.
At the heart of the issue are new sections in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – the new crime code – that lay down a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to ₹7 lakh if a driver is convicted in a hit-and-run accident. In the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, this was up to a maximum of two years and an unspecified amount as fine.
On Tuesday, Bhalla said the decision to invoke the new hit-and-run cases-related penal provision will be taken only after consultation with the AIMTC.
While most states slowly limped back to normalcy on Wednesday, taxi operators in parts of Rajasthan and Punjab, who had extended their support to the protests, refused to call off the strike till the new provisions were withdrawn.
Taxi operators in Chandigarh refused to run services on Wednesday.
“No one wants to drive cabs with such a stringent law. The law has been signed by the President and thus, we demand that the government scrap it and give us in writing that our drivers won’t be in trouble,” Vikram Singh Pundir, president of Tricity Cab Association, said.
Likewise, taxi operators in Jaipur said the strike will continue. They also blocked roads at Collector Circle area and Ajmer-Kota Rajmarg earlier in the day.
“We will continue protesting till the government takes down the laws. The government hasn’t yet assured that they will not implement the law,” Tourist Taxi Association in Rajasthan president Dileep Singh said.
