PM Modi had recently asked for his security convoy to be trimmed and suggested ministers reduce their fleet of vehicles
NEW DELHI: “Shouldn’t we opt for car pooling when we are starting from the same place and heading to a common destination?” — PM Narendra Modi is learnt to have posed the question to his ministers on Wednesday, as he doubled down on his message to save fuel.TOI has learnt that his remarks came during a meeting of the Union Cabinet, for which many of the ministers reached in separate cars.Recently, PM Modi had asked for his security convoy to be trimmed and suggested ministers to reduce their fleet of vehicles, in view of govt appealing to citizens to switch to public transport to reduce consumption of petrol and diesel.“The PM’s message was clear — ministers must practice what they preach,” said a person aware of the discussion, even as most ministers have pruned the number of vehicles that escort their cars.People aware of the discussion in the Cabinet meeting said PM also asked ministers to step up engagement with people and spend more time among citizens to have better connect, while lauding telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s recent engagements with the masses.They added that Modi urged all ministers to make people aware about the govt’s efforts and decisions.During his recent visit to Sikkim, Scindia engaged with locals, surprising them with his proficiency in the Nepali language. PM’s observation had its impact on Wednesday evening itself when some ministers of state travelled in one car to Kartavya Bhawan-3 to attend the PM-chaired Pragati meeting virtually.There were at least six ministers who joined the meeting virtually. Till now, only secretaries and state chief secretaries had been attending these meetings virtually.It can be recalled that soon after PM’s appeal to all to use public transport. BJP ministers across states had either cut their vehicle fleet or opted for bus or metro train. But many of them have struggled to adhere to it — recently one of the deputy CMs of a BJP-governed northern state was reported to have called for a seven-seater vehicle in order to return to the state capital.
