The Congress government, which earlier ordered autorickshaw drivers to remove the posters of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from their vehicles, now has posters carrying pictures of its own leaders on the autorickshaws.
The sudden change in the breeze is seen as a result of the fear of losing more than three lakh votes of around 75,000 auto drivers and their families.
Members of a faction of auto-taxi representatives — Public Auto-Taxi Welfare Union —- have put up posters carrying photographs of CM Sheila Dikshit, PCC chief J.P. Agarwal, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on their vehicles.
In the poster, the union thanks the Congress government for free group insurance of auto-taxi drivers and announcement of a welfare board for drivers. The city Congress government had in June ordered the autorickshaw drivers to remove the posters on their vehicles or else face action. The government’s decision was challenged and the Delhi high court stayed the government’s order on June 20.
Appearing for the drivers, Aam Aadmi Party’s founder-member Prashant Bhushan had told the court that the government action was discriminatory and was targeted at the AAP whose posters were put up by thousands of auto drivers.
Reacting to the development, AAP leaders termed it as a step taken in fear of losing in the upcoming Assembly elections.
“The Congress and BJP are looking at AAP as their major opponent. They fear that all autorickshaw drivers will support the AAP. Even now, after the stay on the city government’s order to remove posters from autorickshaws, cases of torturing drivers only for carrying AAP posters are being reported in the city,” said Kumar Vishwas of AAP.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Harsh Vardhan said, “You can not expect a better behaviour from the Congress party which is already in the pool of corruption cases.”
Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangathan (BMS), the largest banner of auto-taxi union, claimed that the Congress is worried over price rise in commodities.
“We do not work for any party, however, everyone is free to put any party’s poster on his vehicle. But in Congress’s case, there must be some fake union supporting this party. We can never support a party which gives the auto drivers one shock after another with CNG price hikes,” said Rajender Soni, president, Delhi Auto-Taxi Union (a part of BMS).