The ruling Aam Aadami Party (AAP) has been targeted by the Opposition parties in Punjab over the move to capture the truck unions.

There are instances when AAP workers indulged in lawlessness and attacked their rivals to capture the truck unions after AAP formed a government in the state .

Two AAP leaders were hurt in a clash that took place in Abohar on Tuesday when they were trying to wrest control of Abohar Truck Operators Union.

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This is not an isolated incident. Similar clashes were also reported in Moga where two transporters were hurt in a clash between the two rival factions on Monday when AAP’s state joint secretary Avatar Singh Bunty allegedly created a ruckus at the truck union office and then later declared himself as the president of the union.

“First they promised that they would bring a change in the system, but now the Aam Aadami Party workers are forcibly capturing the truck unions. AAP has been exposed a number of times”, senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi said.

When contacted, AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said that the matter has been brought to the notice of the party leadership and nobody will be spared.

“A couple of incidents have been brought to the notice of the party. Nobody will be spared. Arvind Kejriwal has already made it clear to the leaders that misuse of power will not be tolerated,” Malwinder Singh Kang said.

Cartelisation already banned in Punjab

The cartelisation of the transport system in Punjab has badly impacted the investments. The industrialists said the activities of truck unions had a negative impact on the investors, the multinational companies in particular. They cited it as one of the reasons why the investors were shying away from investing in Punjab.

“Punjab industry is already at a locational disadvantage and we regularly require transportation to send finished goods and receive raw materials. Truck unions were banned in the past and now an attempt is being made to revive them which will adversely hit the industry,” said president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, Badish Jindal.

It is worth mentioning here that the then Congress government in 2017 banned truck unions in Punjab and cartelisation was declared as an offence by passing Punjab Goods Carriages (Regulation and prevention of Cartelisation) Rules, 2017 to prohibit truck operators from forming cartels in the state.

There were over 134 truck unions in Punjab which controlled over 90,000 trucks being operated from various towns and cities of the state.

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