The Aam Aadmi Party government's odd-even proposal has brought new flavour to the ongoing second part of the budget session of Parliament with several Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers resorting to new modes of transport, including cycle and horse, to vent their ire.
BJP Member of Parliament Ram Prasad Sharma must have drawn chuckles when he came to Parliament on a horse on Wednesday. Sharma was protesting the odd-even traffic rule in Delhi.
When asked, Sarma said that he had an even number vehicle and could not afford to buy another odd one to travel on odd days, and hence, the horse.
Oh wait, was Sharma’s horse allowed inside the complex? No, Delhi police stopped Sharma near Rail Bhavan and did not allow the horse to proceed towards Parliament.
Let’s see which other lawmakers have chosen absurb ways to get to Parliament:
Arjun Ram Meghwal, BJP
As Meghwal, 61, a two-time BJP MP from Bikaner manoeuvred his way through rush-hour Delhi traffic to reach Parliament, he draws astonished looks from onlookers, but he smiles and acknowledges them.
Meghwal has been receiving mixed reactions for his novel effort from party colleagues and parliamentarians. But he remains unfazed and continues to cycle from his bungalow everyday to the Parliament and back, even though the distance is not more than a kilometre.
“We are representatives of the public, so we should look like them. I have decided that I will cycle for public connect in the walled area of Bikaner city, when I go back to my constituency,” the MP had told Rediff.com in this interview.
Ranjeet Ranjan, Congress
Congress MP and Pappu Yadav’s wife Ranjeet Ranjan made a statement and made one on Women’s Day in March this year, when she rode a bike to Parliament.
Ranjan, 39, and a lawmaker from Bihar's Supaul, cut a dashing figure in a blue salwar kameez and dark sunglasses with a white helmet strapped on securely and drew much attention as she roared into Parliament on an orange Harley Davidson.
The grand entry caused much confusion and nervousness for the security persons, since all vehicles that enter Parliament need a sticker that indicate they are cleared for the area. But Ranjan's bike was missing it and was stopped briefly. It was only after the office of Speaker Sumitra Mahajan gave its sanction for her motorcycle that she was allowed to enter.
Manoj Tiwari, BJP MP
Tiwari on Wednesday turned up on a cycle in wake of the odd-even rule, and advised other fellow parliamentarians to follow the same.
"I am following the odd-even rule. My car is even numbered, and since today is an odd day, I have come like this. I am not saying that this should become a tradition, but those who are interested can come like this," Tiwari told media persons.
"I have come as I was left with no other option. I use a cycle sometimes, and Parliamentarians should use it," he added.
Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former prime ministers
Mrs Gandhi called upon the nation to use less diesel or kerosene or petrol because the crude prices had gone up as much as by five times, during the oil crisis.
On November 12, 1973, she turned up at Parliament in a horse-driven carriage which the President used on ceremonial occasions, causing major headlines the next day.
Not to be left behind, Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived on a bullock cart the very next day, with a towel tied around his head for effect, armed with a whip and clicking his tongue, completing the rustic look. Of course, he drove the cart himself!
As if to upstage them both, joint founder of the Swatantra Party Piloo Modi turned up on an elephant the following day, causing much brouhaha!
Renuka Choudhary, Congress
Choudhary caused a storm in the House when she attempted to drive a tractor to Parliament in November 2000. Choudhary tried to drive the tractor to the Parliament building to highlight the plight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
She was stopped by police who said her vehicle was not authorised to enter.
When Choudhary's colleague, the late Buta Singh asked Lok Sabha member said that the "erring" policemen be punished, former prime minister Chandrashekhar said: "Will a member be allowed to enter Parliament in a tank?"
Bhagwant Mann, Aam Aadmi Party
The Delhi Transport Corporation’s special shuttle service launched by the Delhi government to ferry MPs to Parliament during the course of the odd-even scheme found few takers, and one of them was Mann with colleague Sadhu Singh.
MPs have not been given exemption under the odd-even scheme, the second phase of which started on April 15 and will end on April 30. The violation of the car-rationing scheme attracts a penalty of Rs 2,000.
Mann, picked up another BJP MP from another part of the city, and later took a DTC bus back home.
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