The truck drivers have announced a strike against the increase in punishment in the hit-and-run cases under the new criminal code- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The new provisions prescribe a jail term of up to 10 years or ₹7 lakh fine if a truck driver flees an accident spot or fails to report the incident to the authorities. In the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC), the punishment for the offense was 2 years imprisonment.
The nationwide truck drivers protest led to chaos in several states as people indulged in ‘panic buying’ fearing drying up of stocks. Many petrol pumps ran out of fuel across the country as people queued up to get fuel supplies amid uncertainty over the drivers protest.
The truck drivers protests also ignited a political row between the government and opposition parties. Congress claimed that the new stringent provisions would lead to an ‘extortionist network’ and ‘organized corruption.’
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of ‘penalizing the poor’ and stalling infrastructure projects.
‘Throwing hard-working class with limited earnings into the harsh legal furnace can badly affect their lives. Also, misuse of this law can lead to ‘recovery mechanisms’ along with organized corruption. The government which runs democracy with the whip has forgotten the difference between ’emperor’s directive’ and ‘justice’,’ Gandhi added.
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