Politics On Traffic Violation Fines: Lives on road important or not? | Master Stroke

The amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act, which sharply increased fines on traffic violations, were objected to by not just the Congress-ruled Rajasthan or the TMC-ruled West Bengal, but at least three BJP-ruled states. The first among them was Modi's Gujarat.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani held a press conference to announce that his government had reduced the fines. While the new Act stipulated a fine of Rs 1,000 for riding without a helmet, the Gujarat government halved it. Rupani also slashed the penalty for driving without a licence from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2,000 in the state.

Interestingly, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019, passed by Parliament in July, has been advertised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as one of its 'achievements' in the first 100 days in power.

Other BJP-ruled states, like Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, soon walked the populist path. They either came up with announcements or indicated they wanted to water down the amended Act. Maharashtra Transport Minister Diwakar Raote also urged the centre to "reconsider and reduce" the "exorbitant" penalties.