'Austerity stunt': Congress slams CM Fadnavis for riding bike with expired PUC to Vidhan Bhavan

In a post on X, congress leader Varsha Eknath Gaikwad called it an 'Austerity Stunt', saying the CM arrived on a motorcycle with an expired PUC certificate, sharing a screenshot of the video.

Congress launched a sharp attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday for riding a motorcycle with an expired Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate to Vidhan Bhavan.

Earlier during the week, Prime Minster Narendra Modi appealed to the people to adopt voluntary austerity measures like cutting down on fuel, fertiliser and discretionary spending in attempts conserve foreign exchange.

In response to the prime minister's appeal, many politicians hailing from BJP have cut down on their convoys and opted for public transport in a bid to conserve fuel.

Among them was Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who announced a series of austerity measures on his part.

He stated that he has halved the number of vehicles and convoys of his cabinet and cancelled the foreign tours of ministers and officials.

On Thursday, keeping on par with his austerity measures, Fadnavis arrived at Vidhan Bhavan in South Mumbai to attend the swearing-in of new members of the legislative assembly, on a motorcycle, with BJP leader and minister Ashish Shelar accompanying him.

However, Congress leaders were quick to catch something had gone awry.

In a post on X, tagging the Mumbai Police and RTO Mumbai, Congress leader Varsha Eknath Gaikwad called it an 'Austerity Stunt', saying the chief minister arrived on a motorcycle with an expired PUC certificate, sharing a screenshot of the video.

Following the X post, DH independently verified and found the expired PUC certificate of the Motorcycle Fadnavis was riding.

The expired PUC certificate