Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday accused the BJP-led Delhi government of colluding with automobile companies and forcing 61 lakh middle-class people to buy new cars through its “tughlaqi farman” (draconian order).
The statement comes amid the BJP government defending the move and calling it a necessary step in its ongoing pollution control efforts.
Calling it a “corporate scam”, he claimed, “BJP is forcing 61 lakh middle-class families to buy new vehicles just to benefit its corporate friends, even though many of these vehicles are barely used and pose no pollution threat.”
He alleged that the biggest beneficiaries of this policy are automobile companies.
“The common people are being punished, while the automobile industry is minting money. With 18 lakh new cars and 41 lakh new two-wheelers forcibly entering the market, their profits will skyrocket. The entire middle class of Delhi is devastated. The salaried classes, who save for years just to buy a vehicle on a Rs 5-10 lakh loan, are being forced to start all over again.”
The AAP leader demanded an immediate rollback of the order banning fuel supply to older vehicles, calling it a “cruel betrayal of Delhi’s working families”.