Mumbai

Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to set an example by implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent austerity appeal, demanding that ministers scale down their vehicle convoys and adopt simpler modes of official travel.

Leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Indian National Congress said ministers, legislators, and senior government officials should reduce the size of their security details, use a single official vehicle, and, wherever possible, opt for public transport or carpooling.

Senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil said the country’s middle class has repeatedly responded positively to the prime minister’s public appeals in the past and would likely do so again, but added that those in positions of power must also follow the same principles.

Questioning the use of large official motorcades, Patil asked why ministers continue to travel with convoys of 20 to 30 vehicles despite calls for fuel conservation. He pointed out that in Maharashtra, ministers, senior bureaucrats, and even ruling party legislators often move with extensive security arrangements and multiple escort vehicles.

Appealing directly to Fadnavis, Patil said the chief minister should treat the prime minister’s appeal as a directive and reduce official convoys to a single vehicle accompanied by minimal security, thereby demonstrating the spirit of “Nation First” through action.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant took a swipe at the government, saying that if austerity was truly being taken seriously, the administration should begin by curbing privileges enjoyed by ministers and reconsidering large-scale expenditure on public events such as the Indian Premier League.

In a video statement, Sawant suggested that ministers should give up official cars and travel using the Mumbai Metro, adding that multiple ministers could even travel together in a single vehicle. He also called for an end to chartered flights, helicopter travel, and non-essential foreign visits by public representatives.

Varsha Gaikwad also criticised the ruling party, alleging that Amit Satam had recently travelled with a convoy of around 25 vehicles during an inspection of pre-monsoon drain-cleaning work in Mumbai. She described the exercise as an unnecessary waste of fuel and questioned whether the prime minister’s message was intended only for ordinary citizens while ruling party leaders continued “extravagant” official tours.

Gaikwad accused the BJP of hypocrisy, saying the party advocates austerity and discipline for the public but appears unwilling to practise the same internally.

Separately, Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) described the prime minister’s austerity appeal as a reflection of the Centre’s policy failures and warned that the economic situation could become more difficult in the future.

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Modi had recently urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, make greater use of metro rail services, electric vehicles, carpooling, railway logistics, and work-from-home arrangements to conserve foreign exchange amid the continuing crisis in West Asia.