Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma rode an electric bus to attend an official event, while Deputy CM Diya Kumari travelled by train and curtailed her convoy size.
This is how ministers in Rajasthan have been motivating people to save energy and fiscal resources to help prevent depletion of foreign exchange reserves.
Deputy CM Diya Kumari boarded a train to Ajmer for routine official engagements to mark her participation in the seven-point austerity agenda prescribed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of the West Asia crisis.
“I rode the train to answer the call of my duty and abide by the PM’s appeal for austerity; however, it proved to be a more rewarding decision than I expected. This gave me a chance to mingle with co-passengers, share light moments with them, and appeal to them to join the austerity mission. The PM’s call is the need of the hour. Everyone should join and contribute their bit for the cause — a humble contribution by individuals collectively has the potential to make a big impact,” the former princess-turned-politician said.
Chief Minister Sharma, who has been abiding by the PM’s seven-point advisory from the very beginning, made his efforts even more eye-catching on Saturday. Scheduled to attend the “Gaon Vikas Chaupal” programme in Thikaria village on the outskirts of Bagru town late Saturday afternoon. Sharma opted to travel by an electric (E-bus) instead of his usual, scaled-down motorcade.
High-ranking officials, including senior IAS officers Manju Rajpal, Siddharth Mahajan and Dr Jitendra Kumar Soni, along with Jaipur Police Commissioner Sachin Mittal (IPS), who were also supposed to attend the programme, assembled at the Chief Minister’s residence. From there, they also boarded the E-bus to accompany the Chief Minister to the function.
For the past several days, Chief Minister Sharma has restricted his motorcade to just two or three vehicles, and he now uses an electric vehicle (EV) for all his official movements.
Similarly, early last week, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Prem Chand Bairwa travelled by a Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) bus to visit Phagi in his Dudu assembly constituency. His team of accompanying officials also travelled along with him on the public transport bus.
Following their lead, most members of the state council of ministers have curtailed the size of their official convoys.