As motorists are seething with anger against new stringent traffic rules, a high-level meeting attended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has decided not to enforce them vigorously during the ongoing festival season. There will not be strict vehicle checks during Onam holidays, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said. "A review can be expected after it," he added.
Steep rise in fine amounts had created law and order issues. The CPI(M) leadership had advised the government against implementing the amendment. Higher fines will prove to be detrimental, Balakrishnan added, while pointing out that some states had chosen not to go ahead with the new law.
While pointing out that not all states have implemented the Centre's law, the CPI(M) party secretariat has asked the government to check into the legal aspect. As huge fines are being levied even for minor offences, it is causing several law and order issues in various parts of the state. Those who are being apprehended by the police, refuse to pay the fine and end up arguing with the cops. As the police and the Motor Vehicles Department are responsible for implementing the law, the state government would have to bear the brunt of the public resentment, the party reasoned.
Chennithala steps in
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala too, came out against the steep fines. Balakrishnan has to exert pressure on the government against the move if he meant what he said, Chennithala challenged. The Centre took an arbitrary decision. Several states have not gone ahead with it. Kerala’s roads are in ruin. It cannot tow the Centre’s line, Chennithala said.
Draconian law
With the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act in effect since September 1, several reports of heavy fines being imposed on drivers have come from across the country. As penalties are now five times more than the previous ones, motorists booked for offences are in a dilemma.
The widespread resentment against the exacting provisions of the new law had forced the CPI(M) to ask its own Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala whether the implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act in the state could be postponed.
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The new law imposes heavy fine and even imprisonment for traffic violations. Citing it to be impractical, six states, including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are yet to implement the act. They plan to approach the Supreme Court against it and plan awareness drives on the new traffic rules.
West Bengal was the first state to not implement the new law. Though the CPI(M) had opposed the bill in Parliament, the LDF government promptly implemented it in Kerala. The Nationalist Congress Party, which handles the transport portfolio, also did not make a political assessment either.
The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), affiliated to the CPI(M), has also approached the government against the new law. Sunday's meeting was convened primarily to review the effectiveness of the laser speed guns deployed by the Motor Vehicle Department to catch overspeeding vehicles. They were reportedly not helpful as a few recent major accident cases proved. At the meeting it was decided to make all the cameras functional.
