Chandigarh : General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, member of the Congress Working Committee, and former Union Minister, Kumari Selja said that the BJP-JJP alliance government is adopting various methods to weaken the financial condition of the state's people. Setting a 10-year deadline for scrapping diesel vehicles in the vehicle scrappage policy is completely wrong.
The state government should also amend the diesel vehicle registration process in the NCR districts, where the vehicle's validity is fixed at 10 years but taxes are collected from vehicle owners for 15 years.
In reality, the government's intention is to benefit international vehicle manufacturers and the country's capitalists while exploiting the people of the state. The government and companies are directly benefiting from this policy, while vehicle owners are being economically and mentally harassed.
In a statement released to the media, Kumari Selja said that ensuring a 15-year validity for private diesel vehicles under the state's vehicle scrappage policy is necessary to provide relief to vehicle owners.
Before this, the decision to scrap these vehicles is entirely anti-people. There is no technical flaw in private diesel vehicles even after 10 years. From a technical perspective, diesel vehicles remain fully functional for 10 years, and scrapping them in such a short time would prove to be a significant economic blow to people.
The former Union Minister said that in NCR districts, there is a fixed duration of 10 years for the use of private diesel vehicles, but after that, people from other districts or parts of the country buy these vehicles. In such cases, the vehicle owner gets a fair price, and enthusiasts of old vehicles get a well-maintained car. If the vehicle has already moved out of NCR after 10 years, then the scrappage deadline should be set at 15 years.
Kumari Selja said that the state government is showing a dual approach towards people residing in NCR districts.
The registration of their diesel vehicles is done for 15 years. Road taxes and other payments are also collected for 15 years, while they are granted permission to run these vehicles for only 10 years. In this regard, they should only be charged taxes and other fees for 10 years.
Changes are needed in the vehicle registration rules. All this can only be possible after amending the Motor Vehicle Registration Act, which is a natural process for the government system.
Selja said that if the government works in this direction by considering the interests of the people and with strong determination, the resolution of this problem is possible.
However, if the government aims to establish a system in favor favour big industries, then surely it will continue to harm the public, as it has been happening during the BJP regime.