'Lal Batti mindset to be flushed out'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for flushing out of the “Lal Batti mindset” saying that merely the removal of red beacons from the VIP’s vehicles would not be enough.

“The exit of the red beacon through a government decision is part of a system. But we have to make efforts to cleanse it out of our minds. If we collectively strive to do it with eternal vigilance, it surely can be flushed out,” he said, while addressing the nation in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ .

This comes a day before the government’s decision to remove red beacons from atop the vehicles of the President, the prime minister, ministers and bureaucrats is scheduled to come into effect from May 1.

“Generally speaking, in our country there exists an atmosphere of disdain towards the VIP culture. But that it runs so very deep, I just experienced, when the government recently decided that no person in India, whatsoever his status might be, will now move with a red beacon atop his vehicle,” Modi said.

In a way, it had become “a symbol of the VIP culture,” he said.

“The red beacon now has gone for good, but nobody can say with certainty that the same in the mindset has also disappeared. We have to do this together,” the prime minister added.