In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest austerity drive amid the West Asia crisis, and with the state government announcing a series of expenditure cuts on Wednesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, cabinet ministers and senior bureaucrats immediately moved to signal savings through carefully calculated displays of restraint in official travel.
On Thursday, Fadnavis drove a Royal Enfield Bullet from his official residence Varsha to Vidhan Bhavan with Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar riding on the back seat; His two deputies, Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, traveled in electric cars, while a few other ministers chose to walk to Mantralaya to attend the Cabinet meeting – prompting opposition leaders to term the entire act as an orchestrated political spectacle, questioning whether the self-discipline would continue for a year as the Prime Minister had requested.
Read also: Maharashtra redeploys 903 specialist doctors in major public health reshuffle
After two high-level meetings on Wednesday, during which the Prime Minister announced a slew of austerity measures — the most important of which are cutting ministerial convoys by half, banning foreign trips, and encouraging use of public transport and online meetings — a notification was issued by Chief Secretary Rajesh Agarwal detailing the way forward.
While the Prime Minister and ministers were settling down for the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Fadnavis is believed to have said: “I rode a two-wheeler as a symbolic gesture. I request you all to use public transport at least once a week. Ministers should ensure that MLAs and party workers do not jostle in cars during their outings.”
Read also: Maharashtra ATS interrogates 57 people over alleged links with wanted Pakistani gangster
He first attended the swearing-in ceremony of 10 newly elected members of the Legislative Council and later went to Mantralaya to attend the Cabinet meeting.
An official from the Prime Minister’s Office said that the 2018 model Bullitt was acquired for Fadnavis from the Mumbai Police and registered in the name of the Assistant Commissioner of Police.
“It was serviced yesterday and a fitness certificate was obtained on priority. An environment certificate was also obtained, as an alternative to a PUC certificate. The CM is expected to ride the bullet frequently for short distances in the future as well,” the official said. But Fadnavis’s convoy consisted of police bodyguards on motorcycles. Shinde, who uses a Lexus SUV, reportedly borrowed an electric car from an acquaintance but is expected to buy one soon. “It was not possible to purchase and register an electric car,” the official said. “News within two days of the Prime Minister’s resumption.”
While Shinde and Pawar used EV SUVs to reach Vidhan Bhavan, OBC Minister Atul Saif and Fisheries Minister Nitish Rane walked to Mantralaya from their government bungalows opposite the state secretariat. Significantly, even as they criticized the Prime Minister’s call for austerity, a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, including Ambadas Dhanvi and Anil Parab, chose to walk to their party office, about 200 meters from Vidhan Bhavan, after taking the oath.
Industry Minister Uday Samant, who arrived in Mantralaya in a convoy of electric vehicles on Wednesday, reduced it by half on Thursday.
Manisha Maheskar, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) and her husband Milind, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), chose not to travel separately, and chose to travel together in one car from their residence at Churchgate to Mantralaya. The former’s shared travel post was quickly mocked as an Instagram reel on the platform.
Opposition criticism
The Prime Minister’s new transportation style has drawn criticism from the opposition. “Conserving fuel cannot be achieved in a day or two; it requires consistency. Ministers should not pretend to abandon their convoys. The Prime Minister’s action can only be taken seriously if he travels by bike every day,” Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said.
Read also: Austerity campaign: Ministers’ convoys reduced by half to save energy
Fadnavis defended his move with the hope that citizens would want to emulate him. “People imitate leaders, that’s why I rode a Bullet motorcycle,” he said.
Meanwhile, government officials have pointed to limitations in ministers’ efforts to switch to electric vehicles. “Electric vehicles are not suitable for traveling long distances because there are not enough charging stations,” an officer from a minister’s office said. Another officer stressed the “futility of austerity measures.” He said: “Reducing the Prime Minister’s convoy by half without compromising its security represents a double blow to the security services.”
Schiller’s error
An unguarded exchange between Shelar and Parab outside Vidhan Bhavan, which then went viral, highlights the political cynicism regarding public austerity. Schiller said, mocking the decision to limit the convoys: “The convoy has been reduced. Tomorrow they will ask us to walk for a day, and then carry our security men on our shoulders as well.”
