As the drive to enforce the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 by Odisha Government had started having an impact on traffic violators, a move seems to be underway to dilute the entire exercise. Appallingly, it is being led by a senior minister in the Naveen Patnaik Cabinet even as the Chief Minister himself, who prefers a front seat ride in his car, has sought to set an example by putting on the seat belt.

On Friday, State Rural Development Minister Sushant Singh came out openly in support of the violators with a bizarre argument that the enforcement of traffic violation and road safety rules was discriminatory and was creating a division between the “poor and rich”.

Talking to media persons, Singh said people should have been alerted before the implementation of the amended Act. With such hefty fines, poor people can not afford vehicles, he said and called for reconsideration of the norms and reducing the penalty.

Stating that there are loopholes in the Act, Singh argued, “How can the fine be the same for owners of all types of vehicles? It is unlawful to collect the same fine from the owner of a two-wheeler and that of a luxury car. Such hefty fines created panic among the people.” There’s a need to reconsider the norms and relax penalty as poor people are now afraid to drive vehicles, he said.

Singh’s statement has exposed the contradiction in the Government over such an important issue. Apart from the fact that Singh does not have any locus standi to comment on an issue which does not fall under his jurisdiction, his statement is also likely to put tremendous pressure on the enforcement agencies.

Political observers, however, maintained that Singh has made such a statement keeping the civic polls in mind. “By creating a division between poor and owners of luxury vehicles, he is mostly targeting the slum dwellers who will play a decisive role in the pending urban elections,” a senior Congress leader said.  However, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera differed with Singh. “We are implementing the Central Act which was necessary in view of the large scale traffic violations. People were violating traffic rules with impunity which resulted in accidents and took many lives. Government is enforcing the Act for the good of the people,” he said.