India truckers call off strike after talks with Modi government

A union of truck and bus operators in India has asked members to end their two-day-old strike after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government assured them that it will implement the new penalties in hit-and-run cases only after consultations.

“The truckers had gone on strike on their own in protest against the penalties,” All India Motor Transport Congress Secretary Naveen Kumar Gupta said. “We have appealed to them to call off the strike as Home Ministry has agreed to hold discussion on the new laws.”

The truckers, which carry 70% of India’s domestic freight according to government data, launched the strike on Monday in protest against the newly enacted law, which extends the jail term for hit-and-run cases to a maximum of 10 years, from two at present.

“The government wants to point out that these new laws and provisions have not yet come into force,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. The decision to impose new penalties will be “taken only after consultation with the All India Motor Transport Congress,” it said.