Haryana Polls: New MV Act Set to Impact BJP’s Prospects, Unhappy Motorists Vow to Teach Party a Lesson

Hisar (Haryana): Implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 is something the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—which appears to have an edge so far—should worry about ahead of the Assembly election in Haryana. The state is going to polls on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24.

Dudaram Bishnoi, BJP candidate from Fatehabad, has claimed that he will not only resolve issues of education and liquor and drug addiction, but also deal with the penalties the new law has imposed for traffic violations.

“You will elect me as your MLA from this constituency. It’s about drug abuse; it’s about education, the authorities who issue challan to the motorcycle riders—all these small problems would end automatically when your brother or son will become an MLA,” Bishnoi told a public gathering on October 9.

Though he has been widely criticised for his statement, he, perhaps, has sensed the resentment among voters against the provision of heavy fines. People in the state, especially those who are associated with the travel agency business, appear to be extremely unhappy with the BJP government.

And therefore, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, too, has taken a soft stand on the issuance of hefty challans by the police for traffic rules violations. He has said that awareness campaigns have been launched by the traffic police to inform people about traffic rules. If his party comes to power, there will be an amendment in the new rule, say experts.

But the assurance has failed to douse people’s anger. “This new MV Act is giving a tough time to the taxi drivers. We end up paying from our hard-earned savings for the fines. This rule is so harsh that several states have given some relaxations. But the Haryana government—despite the polls being just around the corner—has refused to address people’s woes.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019 was passed by Parliament in July and its increased fines came into effect from September 1. After the heavy fines introduced by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, hefty challans for traffic rules violations had hit the headlines.

“He [the CM] has only talked about awareness campaign, but challans are still being issued. Once the election is over, all the promises will be put on the back burner,” said Raj Kumar Jangu (45), chief of the Bhaichara Taxi Union, while speaking to NewsClick.

He said he had voted for the BJP in the recent Lok Sabha elections, but added that the “saffron party emptied our food plates”. “It has become difficult to bear the family expenses. Our earnings were already less. With the implementation of the amended law, it has become difficult to make ends meet. The police are abusing the new legislation and extorting money from us. It has become difficult for us to vote for the BJP,” he said.

Vijendra Kumar, a 35-year-old taxi driver, shared almost the same views. He said that the amendment to the MV Act has been done with an aim to “torture” poor people. “Bribery has increased manifold. We were already bearing the burden of toll tax. Now, the mindless implementation of the new rule has further burdened us. We also advocate that traffic rules should be strictly followed. But to make this happen, hiking penalties to thousands of rupees is not at all fair. Making the amount of fines double and triple was understandable, but increasing to over five times the existing amount is an injustice,” he said.

Sampat Lal (50), who rents out his tractor for farming and carrying farm produce, says, “The tractors engaged in farming are also not being spared. As a result, the agricultural activities are getting affected. Choudhary Devi Lal’s government had kept tractors out of tax ambit. But the Khattar government is issuing challans. Farmers will give a fitting reply, this election.”

Prabhu Dayal (45), who runs his car on rent, says, “We, the taxi drivers, will also keep the new law in mind while exercising our right to franchise. The new law is affecting everyone—from a biker to someone owning a truck. Since it is the election season, the administration is a bit lenient in issuing challans. But if this government once again comes to power, we will have to change our profession, as it will resume imposing heft fines. Otherwise, we will have to die.”

Notably, when the amended MV Act was implemented, a scooter owner from Gurugram was fined with Rs 23,000. Similary, a challan of Rs 22,000 was issued against a motorcyclist in Jhajjar district. The police had sent a challan of Rs 1.16 lakh to a truck owner in Rewari district. A tractor driver in Gurugram had to pay Rs 59,000 as fine. A bullet rider was penalised with Rs 41,000 in Faridabad where another biker was also issued a challan of Rs 35,000.

Opposition parties are trying to make the amended MV Act an issue in the upcoming election. Digvijay Singh Chautala of the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) is talking in his public meetings about amending the new law if his party is voted to power. At the same time, he is attacking the BJP government by calling it a regime of “torture” and “vendetta”. The Congress also doesn't want to miss this opportunity to garner support. Former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda is trying to convince people in his election rallies that the new MV Act is against people and if his party forms the government in the state, then it will bring down the amount of penalties.

According to the Haryana Transport Department, the state had a total of 47,91,825 (47.91 lakh) registered vehicles in the year 2010. Officials claim that the number has increased by 1.5 times in the past nine years.

Also read: Haryana Polls: Low Voter Interest in Hisar, Outcome Hinges on Caste Calculations