Chennai, Nov 13( IANS) Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, the AIADMK, and its NDA partner, the BJP, on Thursday intensified pressure on the state government to immediately resolve the ongoing strike by omni bus owners, who have suspended inter-state services following what they describe as heavy fines imposed by neighbouring states.
AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) said thousands of passengers were bearing the brunt of the stalemate, particularly those travelling to Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
With private omni buses staying off the roads for nearly a week, passengers have been forced to depend entirely on limited government and contract carriage services, he noted.
“The DMK regime must not cause any further delay. The government should immediately hold talks with the office-bearers of the Omni Bus Association and ensure that people have seamless travel options,” EPS said.
The AIADMK leader alleged that operators had stopped services after being informed that fines imposed by other states on Tamil Nadu-registered omni buses would severely affect their business viability.
Echoing the criticism, BJP leader and former state unit president K. Annamalai accused the DMK government of triggering the crisis through what he called an “exorbitant and greed-driven” additional road tax on vehicles entering Tamil Nadu.
He claimed that this unilateral policy had provoked retaliatory action from neighbouring states, including Kerala and Karnataka, both ruled by INDIA Bloc allies of the DMK.
“Last week alone, nearly 100 Tamil Nadu-registered omni buses were fined close to Rs 2 crore in Kerala and Karnataka. This has brought inter-state omni bus operations to a complete halt and caused immense hardship to lakhs of Tamil Nadu passengers,” Annamalai said.
He alleged that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had refrained from intervening due to “political considerations” involving the DMK’s alliance partners in neighbouring states.
“While other chief ministers are acting swiftly to protect their people’s welfare, Tamil Nadu CM Stalin is making the Tamil people scapegoats for the sake of his alliance politics,” he charged.
Both leaders urged the state government to engage in urgent talks with Kerala and Karnataka authorities and provide a long-term solution to ensure smooth inter-state private transport operations.
--IANS
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