New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) The much-talked about odd-even traffic system in Delhi figured in the Lok Sabha on Monday during zero hour with Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, expelled from the RJD, stating that the measure has only added to people's problems.
Bharatiya Janata Party member Kirit Somaiya raised the controversial Ishrat Jahan case during zero hour and slammed the former Congress-led UPA regime over it.
Raising the odd-even traffic restrictions scheme in the Lok Sabha, Pappu Yadav said it has only sought to help CNG companies and bus manufacturers.
Yadav, MP from Madhepura in Bihar, launched Jan Adhikar Party on the eve of Bihar polls last year. Criticising the odd-even scheme, he alleged that it was launched by the Delhi government of Arvind Kejriwal only for achieving "cheap popularity".
This would hardly contribute to reduce pollution, he claimed. A number of BJP members were seen supporting the Bihar MP.
Yadav cited a recent IIT-Kanpur study as revealing that pollution from cars was a mere five per cent.
He argued that the odd-even mechanism fails to address other issues concerning environment and means of travel which contribute 95 per cent to pollution. The Delhi government of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is not bothered about this, he alleged.
Vocal AAP member Bhagwant Mann was seen strongly protesting the remarks.
The issue of odd-even had figured at an all-party meeting on Sunday too and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced that she has directed parliament officials to arrange additional vehicles for members.
Meanwhile, cornered over Uttarakhand in both houses of parliament, BJP member Kirit Somaiya raised the controversial Ishrat Jahan case in the Lok Sabha and slammed the erstwhile Congress-led UPA regime over it.
He raised the issue during zero hour and blamed former home ministers from the Congress during gthe UPA regime for what he said was an attempt to play with national security.
Speaker Mahajan, however, disallowed him to take names.
The BJP member alleged that the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) dispensation had tried to make a martyr out of a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative.
He said the UPA government itself earlier described Ishrat Jahan, who was killed by Gujarat Police in an alleged gun battle in 2004, as a terrorist. But in the second affidavit it was changed "with motives", he alleged.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge took pot shots at the government wondering how the issue could be allowed to be raised in parliament as the Ishrat Jahan case like President's Rule in Uttarakhand, is sub-judice.
Earlier, Kharge and his party colleagues and members from AAP and Indian Union of Muslim League were not allowed to move an adjournment motion on the Uttarakhand political crisis as the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.
