Mr Gadkari & his govt are responsible for e-rickshaws ban

The BJP’s central government must take responsibility for the ban on e-rickshaws, since it indulged in doublespeak and took contrary stands inside and outside the court. It did nothing for the regularisation and laying down of safety standards for these vehicles.  

Union transport minister Mr Nitin Gadkari must explain what happened to his assurances given to the e-rickshaw drivers at the Ramlila Ground on June 16 ?

He had promised to provide employment to two crore people, but his government by its negligence and doublespeak is responsible for rendering atleast two lakh poor families in the national capital jobless at the moment.

It is shocking that the central government, Delhi administration and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi kept passing the buck on the issue of regularisation of e-rickshaws despite the High Court’s insistence on the issue for more than five months.

If the BJP and its central government are at all serious on the issue, they can easily get the amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act passed during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament itself to resolve the issue.

The key issues concerning the plying of e-rickshaws in the national capital are their registration and licensing, so that they can be regulated as per law, including laying down of clear criterion of how many passengers have to be allowed in them and in which areas will they be allowed.

The important question that now arises is whether Mr Gadkari had made the promises to the e-rickshaw drivers in his personal capacity and whether his own government refused to implement the promises made by him ?    

The non-committal stand of the government in the court also gives rise to further suspicion on whether Mr Gadkari spoke for e-rickshaws to promote the business of his own brother-in-law.

The Aam Aadmi Party views the step of banning the e-rickshaws altogether as an extreme step and e-rickshaw drivers should not be denied their livelihoods due to the faults of the government.

E-rickshaws should be regulated under clear guidelines, but these should not be made scapegoats for the mistakes of others. It must be remembered that these are environment friendly vehicles and are a good way of replacing the traditional cycle rickshaws pulled by humans.(ENDS)