They know only blame game: BJP

LEADER OF Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and BJP leader, Vijender Gupta, alleges he never gets straight answers from AAP legislators because “they have done no substantial work”. On Wednesday, transport and health minister, Satyender Jain, discussed transit oriented development (TOD) instead of answering Gupta’s question on how far the government has progressed on unified transport authority (UTA) under the Special Mention rule.

Why did you bring up the UTA — a proposal pending for years — in the Assembly?

The AAP government had promised to form the UTA in their manifesto. The UTA is aimed at ensuring coordination of all stakeholders like traffic police, state transport departments and municipal corporations in the NCR to effectively manage traffic and transport related infrastructure and policy issues. But the government has done nothing.

But Jain said a lot of work to streamline modes of transport is making headway.

Yes, but the minister ducked my question. He was on the floor of the House and yet did not bother to answer my query. He spoke on the TOD which is something the Centre and the state government have been working on for a long time and it’s a long term project which has nothing to do with the UTA.

Why do you think he ducked your question?

Everyone can see how no one answers my questions. But I am not bothered by it as much as I am bothered by how ineffectual the state government is. I also questioned them about the number of prosecutions against those flouting pollution norms. But, they cited figures handed over to them by traffic police instead of the DPCC.

Traffic police refused to participate as a coordinating body in the UTA. And Jain alleges that the DDA, also accountable to the Centre, has not been cooperative.

These are petty blame games the government keeps playing. How can we foresee that the traffic police will back out if this government moots a proposal even before it has done so. First let them start somewhere and do some work, they should at least ‘try’ before shifting blame to the Centre.