: Auto and taxi unions have decided to go on strike on Monday in reaction to what they allege is the apathy of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government towards their livelihoods.
Rajender Soni, vice-president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), said as many as 81,000 auto rickshaws and an estimated 12,000 yellow-black taxis will participate in the strike, which they had decided to call after repeated attempts to reach out to the Delhi government proved unfruitful.
“We have been trying to meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal since the beginning of this month over issues such as the government’s evident bias towards companies such as Uber and Ola, the plying of cabs registered in other States on cheap rates and the issue of new auto permits in Delhi, but to no avail,” said Mr. Soni.
“In early March, the government had assured us that it would look into our demands especially in relation to the free hand given to app-based cab companies. But it has gone back on its word,” he added.
Close to one lakh auto rickshaw and taxi drivers had threatened a two-day strike from March 15 to protest the alleged step-motherly treatment of “old hands” like them by the AAP government.
On the eve of the strike, Transport Minister Gopal Rai had met the drivers and assured them that their demands, which included the installation of meters on vehicles plying through app-based companies to bring “more parity”, would be studied in detail.
“We had called off the strike but told the government that we would cripple Delhi during the enforcement of the odd-even rule if it did not deliver on its promises; since that is the case, we will strike from Monday,” Mr. Soni added.
