IAS officer's 'aukaat' remark amid truckers' protest sparks row, issues clarification
Truckers' protest: A video of a meeting between a collector and a driver in Madhya Pradesh's Shajapur district went viral after collector Kishor Kanyal lost his cool and asked the driver, 'Kya karoge tum? Kya aukat hai tumhari? (What will you do? What is your status/worth?)". The driver responded that this is why they are fighting because they lack aukat (status). The man was then reportedly moved away from the scene.
The video was widely circulated on social media, with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticising the collector's approach to the man.
The collector's office issued a clarification, stating that the man at the meeting repeatedly threatened to escalate the protest to any level after January 3. The collector used a harsh tone to restrain the man, not to hurt anyone, according to the clarification.
"The meeting was held to tell them to raise their issues democratically, but one of them was inciting others and threatening to escalate the protest, so I used these words. I apologise if my words have caused anyone pain," the collector said. After causing a commotion on Monday, the meeting was held on Tuesday with approximately 250 truck and bus owners.
On Tuesday night, truckers ended their two-day protest after Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla stated that the decision to invoke the new hit-and-run case-related penal provision would be made only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress.
On Monday, truck drivers across India began a three-day strike in protest of the new penal provision in the new law in any hit-and-run case. The punishment for hit-and-run cases in the previous Indian Penal Code was two years in prison. If such a death is not immediately reported to the police, the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita provides for ten years in prison or a fine of Rs. 7 lakh.
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