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Journalism of Courage
Originally from neighbouring Bihar, UP Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh pursued his higher education at Lucknow University, where he got involved with the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, BJP’s youth wing. In 2022, he was elected MLA from Ballia Nagar and has been credited with a lot of the success of the alliances the BJP has struck in UP. He was recently involved in Om Prakash Rajbhar rejoining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the return of Dara Singh Chauhan from the Samajwadi Party. Singh talks, among other things, about how he has changed a corruption-riddled department and his role in getting Opposition leaders to join the party.
Singh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji has taken the country forward. Lots of people who are impressed with his policies want to join the BJP. Before every election since 2014 — be it 2017, 2019 or 2022 — people from many parties joined the BJP. Some of them are Cabinet ministers now. The party is growing and expanding. More people from different parties will join the BJP in the coming days.
Singh: Rajbhar has a strong hold on people of his caste. His support will give us strength. The Opposition won six Lok Sabha seats in the area, including Azamgarh (in 2019). The BJP will win these seats in 2024. BJP’s organisation is strong at every level and there is no challenge. Our goal is to win all 80 seats.
Singh: Akhilesh has done all experiments. In 2019, arch-rivals SP and BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) made a big alliance of the backwards and Dalits. Akhilesh calls himself the face of the backwards while Mayawati calls herself the leader of Dalits. They came together but could not stop the ‘Modi Wave’. Ab to Modi ji ki tsunami bahegi. Usme yeh kahan tik payenge? (A Modi tsunami is coming. How will they withstand that?). Last time they got success in saving the seats of their family members because of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Now he is no more. In the next election, the SP will not be able to save even its family seats such as Mainpuri.
Singh: I have worked to increase bus connectivity and transparency in the regional transport offices (RTO). The department has two working parts — one related to the issuance of driving licences (DLs), the fitness of vehicles, registration and permits; the other is the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) that operates buses and provides a convenient travel option to people at affordable prices.
I have made the issuing of Learner’s driving licences (DLs) completely online. For permanent DLs, automated driving institutes are being set up in every district. So far, 14 such institutes have been set up. Permits are also now being issued online. UP is the first state where 100% of the taxes are paid online.
Earlier, vehicles moving into the National Capital Region (NCR) from UP, or those entering UP from the NCR, had to pay tax. People had to face hassle on the road because of this. We coordinated with all the concerned states and made the entry free. This decision caused a loss of revenue, but the government did it for public convenience.
In the coming days, the middleman culture will be eradicated completely. Iska naam o nishan nahi rahega (will remove all traces of middlemen).
Singh: We have around 14,000 buses. This will be increased. No bus was procured during the Covid-19 pandemic. We have a target to acquire 7,000 new buses in the fleet before the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2025. Over 2,300 buses have already been procured.
Bus depots will be equipped with modern facilities. Five bus stations, including Lucknow and Ghaziabad, are going to be developed like airports, where various services and facilities such as waiting rooms, commercial activities, markets, lounges, and LED screens for entertainment will be provided. Work has started on these five bus stations and the tender process is going to start for another 40.
Singh: After five years, there won’t be any village left where bus service isn’t available. The department will become free from corruption and middleman using technology.
