'Will police now issue challan to CM': Oppn slams Fadnavis for riding bike with expired PUC to Vidhan Bhavan

Mumbai: Backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity measures, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rode a motorcycle from Varsha, his official residence at Malabar Hill, to the Vidhan Bhavan complex at Nariman Point on Thursday, but the move drew sharp criticism from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

Fadnavis, with state Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar riding pillion, travelled on a Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorcycle to attend the swearing-in ceremony of 10 newly elected MLCs at Vidhan Bhavan.

The Chief Minister’s bike ride came in line with Modi’s appeal to reduce fuel consumption amid the ongoing crisis in West Asia.

Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, had recently announced a series of austerity measures, including reducing the number of vehicles in ministerial convoys by half and suspending foreign tours of government officials.

In a related development, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma directed the state Home Department to review the existing security arrangements for his convoy and examine the feasibility of reducing the number of security vehicles deployed.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, calling the exercise a publicity stunt.

“In the craze for publicity, the Chief Minister did take a Bullet ride, but the motorcycle’s PUC certificate had expired. Will the police, who penalise ordinary citizens for such violations, now issue a challan to the Chief Minister as well?” Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar asked.

Mumbai Congress president Prof Varsha Gaikwad also questioned the move. “So ‘expired maal’ is acceptable? It appears the Chief Minister selected a motorcycle with an expired PUC certificate for his austerity stunt. Will the RTO and Mumbai Traffic Police take action?” she said.

Reacting to visuals of BJP leaders travelling in buses, metro trains and motorcycles, NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase alleged that the exercise was merely a “camera-driven publicity stunt” without any serious commitment to long-term austerity measures.

Tapase questioned whether Fadnavis would continue commuting daily on a motorcycle and sarcastically remarked that the government could now use austerity as a reason to spend public money on electric vehicles for ministers and bureaucrats.

“Travelling on bikes, buses and metro trains for a single day before cameras will neither reduce fuel prices nor resolve the crisis. Genuine intent towards austerity should be reflected through sustained action,” Tapase said.

Responding to the criticism, BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban said, “This official vehicle belongs to the Police Department. Since the Chief Minister himself was driving it, the police had already taken appropriate precautions. The motorcycle was serviced yesterday. The Congress, which has lost public support, is now trying to gain cheap publicity by raising technical issues related to documents.”