The Road Transport and Safety Bill mooted by the Centre will be opposed by AIADMK MPs in the Rajya Sabha during the upcoming session, Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabhaskar informed the Assembly on Saturday.
Replying to DMK member N. Suresh Rajan (Nagercoil), who urged the government to oppose the Bill in the Rajya Sabha where the AIADMK has considerable number of MPs, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said the AIADMK MPs have been informed about the Bill and they would press for the amendments intended by the State government.
“Tamil Nadu is the only State which has been opposing the Bill for long demanding certain amendments. We will continue to press for the amendments,” the Minister said. Earlier, Mr. Suresh Rajan alleged that the Bill was against State autonomy.
As for Mr. Suresh Rajan’s claim that the government had not paid the dues pending for transport workers, Mr. Vijayabhaskar said the Chief Minister had allocated ₹1,250 crore recently and also said that the remaining dues would be paid by September. Mr. Vijayabhaskar went on to claim that the strike by transport workers was “unnecessary” and “instigated by the DMK and the CITU.”
When DMK members claimed that the AIADMK-affiliated Anna Thozhisangam too had participated in the strike, Leader of the House K.A. Sengottaiyan denied it.
As for Mr. Suresh Rajan’s request to reduce ticket fare in air-conditioned buses which had gone up by 5% after the implementation of the GST, the Minister said the decision was taken by the Centre.
