Goel lines up war of roses with AAP over odd-even

TWO DAYS after Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai unsuccessfully reached out to him with a rose and a request to follow the odd-even scheme, BJP Rajya Sabha member Vijay Goel has decided on a rosy reply.

Goel, who did not oblige Rai and violated the scheme, said Wednesday he will send 67 volunteers of NGO Lok Abhiyaan to all 67 AAP MLAS Friday with a rose and a memorandum each, seeking an account of the money spent on the scheme. The memorandum will also list public grievances over the scheme.

Goel, who started Lok Abhiyaan in 1986, described the odd-even scheme as “a game of ludo”. He said he had supported” the scheme in January, but was disappointed with the outcome.

“The pollution levels have not dropped... Now, the government is saying it has helped reduce traffic congestion on roads,” he said. “The Delhi government comes across as confused on the issue and has used the scheme only to publicise itself. Crores have been spent on advertisements for the scheme. This is sheer waste of public money...”

Goel said the government was ill-equipped to implement the scheme and has instead given rise to corruption. “The government is selling car registration numbers of commuters’ choice at a price of Rs 21,000. This black marketing of registration numbers is being done openly and if it is not checked soon, I will approach the courts.”

On Monday, the BJP MP had violated the odd-even rule by driving his odd-numbered car. He was fined Rs 3500 — Rs 2,000 for flouting odd-even rule, Rs 1000 for not carrying insurance papers for his car and Rs 500 for not carrying his driving licence.

On violating the rule, Goel told The Indian Express, “Who is the AAP government to decide an arbitrary challan of Rs 2,000? On Monday, I purposely violated the rule to tell everyone that such arbitrary rules cannot be imposed... It has been inconveniencing common people.

“But even as I violated the rule, everyone got after me, questioning why I did not have my licence and insurance papers. Does everyone carry licence and insurance papers all the time? It is very normal to forget them at home.”