Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 11 : Ahead of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's public meeting in Bhubaneswar on Friday, Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das urged drivers in the state who are participating in the ongoing transportation strike to pauses their protest for a day to enable the Congress leader to conduct a successful event.
Drivers of private buses, trucks, taxis and commercial vehicles have joined in the strike that commenced from Tuesday over various demands, including the formation of a drivers' welfare fund, pension benefits after 60 years, legal protection from public hostility and designated parking lots and rest rooms with basic facilities every 100 km.
The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who is on a Odisha visit, is set to address a public event here today.
"You can see the preparations ahead of Rahul Gandhi's visit. Lakhs of people from across the state will be coming here, but the state government is creating trouble for the people and for us by using the drivers' association. Drivers have called for a strike; they are not even seeing the problems being faced by the people and if the drivers do not drive for our event, how will people come?
"The state government is attempting to sabotage this event. I urge the drivers that we will support you, but please stop your strike at least for a day, and after that, we will support your cause. Let our event be a success... If you cause such kinds of obstructions in our events, then we will do something similar when your senior leaders come to the state. Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and KC Venugopal are coming here," Das told ANI.
The Lok Sabha LoP and Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge, will be accompanied by Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal during the one-day visit.
Meanwhile, commuters in Odisha face inconvenience as transport services are disrupted due to the Odisha Driver Mahasangh entering its fourth day.
A passenger, Virendra Singh, said that everyone across the state is facing issues due to the protest, urging the government to resolve the drivers' demands. "I had to pay extra Rs 1600 for my commute, as the transport services have been halted... The government must listen to the drivers' demands... Everyone across the state is facing issues," he said.