New Delhi: Delhi BJP today threatened to stage protest outside the residences of Congress leaders if they oppose ‘e-rickshaw bill' in Rajya Sabha. A bill to regularise e-rickshaws and provide for driving licences for battery-operated vehicles was introduced in Lok Sabha recently, paving the way for such vehicles to ply in the national capital and other places.
“E-rickshaw drivers are afraid if Congress leaders oppose this bill in Rajya Sabha, it may not be passed because the BJP is not in the majority in the Rajya Sabha,” Delhi BJP's unorganised workers morcha president Anand Sahu said. “We have decided that if Congress opposes this bill in Rajya Sabha, e-rickshaw drivers will gherao the houses of its leaders,” he said.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had introduced Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2014, in Lok Sabha amid protest from Opposition members including Congress who objected to introduction of the legislation after mentioning it in the supplementary list of business. They demanded the government should give time to them to study the legislation. E-rickshaws or battery-operated vehicles were banned by the Delhi High Court on safety concerns.
