AAP blames BJP over DTC bus drivers’ strike

Hundreds of thousands of commuters had a harrowing time in the national Capital on Monday as Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) crews went on strike to protest against the killing of a driver by a biker in an incident of road rage. The AAP government blamed the BJP for the strike.

Most of the DTC’s 4,705 buses went off the roads, with hundreds of drivers and conductors massing at the 45 depots spread across the city, shouting slogans.

A small fleet of buses which plied proved inadequate for the nearly 40 lakh people who use the DTC daily to commute, forcing them to largely turn to the already-crowded Delhi Metro.

Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai met officials to sort out the issue arising from Sunday morning’s incident when a biker beat the driver to death.

“BJP is inciting the DTC drivers through their workers’ unions. BJP workers are not allowing to conduct post-mortem of the deceased. BJP is engaged in politics over the dead body,” said Gopal Rai in a press conference on Monday morning. Rai had visited the family and striking drivers on Sunday.

As news of the death spread, DTC staff unions threatened a strike. From Monday morning, drivers and conductors gathered at the depots and shouted slogans demanding strict action against the biker who has been arrested.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for not only politicising the issue but also for the strike.

“The compensation for the driver’s family has been announced and the guilty arrested. The BJP is behind the strike,” Rai told the media.

He said CCTV cameras would soon be installed in DTC buses and around 2,500 marshals would be deployed in the first phase.

The Delhi government said it would bear the cost of education of the victim’s daughter and threatened action against the agitating staff who did not return to work. 

Earlier, the BJP held a candle light march from Parliament Street to Jantar Mantar demanding justice for the deceased bus driver and asked the Delhi government to increase the compensation to Rs 1 crore. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay gave Rs 5 lakh to the driver’s family. 

The Delhi BJP chief also demanded that the government come out with a policy frame-work for the safety and security of the DTC crew.