In the wake of a horrific rape in Delhi by a taxi driver of the Uber multinational cab service provider, AISA, AIPWA and JNUSU held protests on 7 December, demanding strong action and accountability of various Ministries of the government which routinely allow unregulated, unsafe and unlicensed service providers to operate. JNUSU called for a protest at the Delhi Police headquarters at ITO – highlighting the fact that the police had allowed not just Uber, but several other cab services to blissfully violate several established rules, regulations and norms set by the government.
Addressing the protest, JNUSU Vice President Anant Prakash Narayan pointed out that there are many reasons why this is not just the individual rapist whom we need to hold responsible, but the Government. To begin with, the driver accused in the present case had also been accused of rape previously in 2011. Yet, the Delhi Police, which works under the Home Ministry, gave a ‘character certificate’ to this driver, with no accountability being fixed. Secondly, cab companies operate in India by openly floating a host of laws. Ola, Uber and Meru Genie, for instance, pose as ‘software providers’ and not cab operators to circumvent Central Motor Vehicles Act. These cab companies don’t have permits under Delhi Radio Taxi Scheme 2006 or Economy Radio Taxi Scheme 2010. Yet, the Ministries whose job it is to regulate these companies – the Transport Ministry and the Home Ministry – remain silent and allow the companies to make profits.
AISA leader Shweta Raj pointed out that the whole issue wasn’t just about Uber. It was about why an unregulated regime is provided to companies whose services directly affect the safety of Indian citizens. She asserted the need to keep asking such questions even in the context of factories and environmental regulations, because the present government is busy dismantling the meagre regulations (labour laws and environment laws) that existed, inviting companies to Make Money in India, assuring them of cheap lives, cheap labour, cheap land – in the process jeopardizing Indian citizens at workplaces and polluted habitats. JNUSU general secretary Chintu said that just as in December 2012 the government had refused to accept accountability, we are now hearing the same deafening silence from the Home Minister, Transport Minister and Prime Minister, who are washing their hands off their criminal failure to ensure safe transport in Delhi and India.
