The flip-flop over enforcing the seat-belt-for-rear-cabin rule is threatening to claim the first ‘official’ casualty in Kerala.
Rishiraj Singh, the no-nonsense cop and State Transport Commissioner, has reportedly applied for extension of leave following a move to revoke the rule that he sought to enforce.
Singh and the State Motor Vehicle Department had issued a circular requiring rear passengers also wear seat belt in a State known for ever-rising death casualty from accidents.
The untimely death in a road accident of Gopinath Munde, who had been sworn in as a Cabinet Minister at the Centre, had only escalated the case for implementing the rule.
Rishiraj Singh, now in Delhi, received a massive boost for his case when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said he would try for a Central legislation in the matter.
The Union Minister was quoted as saying in New Delhi that he intended to meet with the Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and discuss the matter with him.
He had said this in the context of the development in Kerala, the first State that moved to enforce the rule following the death of Munde.
SPRINGS A SURPRISE
But back home, Kerala Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan sprang a surprise by revoking the circular in response to a submission raised in the Assembly.
The member who raised the issue also had also said that the Government should use ‘the belt’ to restrain overzealous officers who threatened to run amok among motorists with new rules.
In his response, the Minister had gone on record saying that ‘there are rules and rules’ which applied to traffic but not all were necessarily implementable on ground.
He also cited the case of the large number of vehicles pre-dating 2002 which did not have provision of seat belts on board.
He had received a number of complaints from motorists on this ground. The Government could not turn its back to them and put them to inconvenience while driving to home/office.
COMMISSIONER UPSET
In this backdrop, it had decided to revoke the rule. Interest of the common man was the first and foremost concern, the Minister said.
The government would immediately proceed to recall the order, something that reportedly upset the Transport Commissioner who had proceeded on leave by then.
Sources close to Singh said the top cop, who has a built up a larger-than-life image as a law enforcer, was unhappy that he was not taken into confidence before revoking the order.
He was even willing to quit, and was considering the option of moving out on a deputation with the Central Government.
But the Transport Minister denied that Rishiraj Singh had applied for extension of leave, much less having expressed a desire to relinquish the job.