Autorickshaw and taxi drivers on Wednesday began an “indefinite hungerstrike” against app-based taxi aggregators even as the chief minister accused the BJP of sponsoring the strike.
Mr Kejriwal also blamed lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung for the plight of Delhiites and accused him of “supporting the BJP” to “cripple” the city. The unions sat on the hungerstrike outside the CM’s residence. They said that the strike will continue till their demands are met.
The commuters were left stranded at various places, including railway stations, ISBTs, airport and Metro stations as thousands of autos and taxis remained off the city’s roads due to the strike called by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of 20 auto and yellow top unions.
Though some autorickshaws and taxis were seen ferrying passengers, most of them remained off the capital’s roads. Regular commuters and those visiting the city had a harrowing time.
Transport minister Satyendar Jain, who called a meeting with representatives of some auto and taxi unions to discuss their demands, claimed 17 unions have called off the strike. But JAC member Rajendra Soni refuted Mr Jain’s claim and said they will not end the protest until their demands were met.
Mr Soni, who is the general-secretary of Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union, said that the strike will continue on Thursday as well. There were reports of protesters not allowing other taxi and auto drivers to run their vehicles on the Outer Ring Road, Kondali. They also broke windscreens of taxi and autos at some places. The Transport Minister questioned Delhi Police’s “inaction” against “BJP-supported goons”.
He also said that the JAC has sought an appointment with Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday to raise their demands as the city administration has completely “failed” to address their issues.
Meanwhile, the chief minister retweeted a video in which an auto driver could be seen saying he feared that their vehicles may be damaged and that they were not running their vehicles. He also claimed that the police had not made security arrangements for them. “BJP goons stopping autos and taxis from plying. BJP wants to cripple del. Active support frm LG n Del policem (sic),” Mr Kejriwal tweeted.
