Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has rejected the proposal of the estate department to purchase two Mercedes Benz SUVs for him and his fleet.
He will continue to use the five-year old car that he has inherited from former CM Akhilesh Yadav.The rejection of the proposal has saved at least Rs 5 crore which would have been incurred in buying the cars and then bullet-proofing them.
Yogi Adityanath is still the head priest of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur and is known for leading an austere life.
He had earlier rejected the requisition for the purchase of Toyota-Fortuner for his ministers and cleared Toyota Innova. The top model of Fortuner costs Rs 31.86 lakh while Innova comes at less than half the price.
Two of his predecessors – SP president Akhilesh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati – had given the go ahead for new cars. The government had acquired Mayawati had a Land Cruiser for Rs 1 crore (the cost at that time) during her 2007-2012 tenure while Akhilesh had a Mercedes Benz.
The Samajwadi Party government had purchased two identical cars – one for the CM and the other for the then SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Though Akhilesh returned his car to the government but Mulayam continues to ride the SUV given to him.
The estate department had proposed that Mulayam should be asked to return the car but Yogi reportedly rejected the idea. He said Mulayam was a veteran and he should not be asked to return the car until he does so on his own.
