Modi can't claim to be 'fakir' after Rs 12 cr car: Raut

January 02, 2022 14:25

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not call himself a 'fakir' now with the addition of a "Rs 12 crore" car in his cavalcade.

In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also praised former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for always using an Indian-made car, and late PM Indira Gandhi for not replacing her security guards despite a threat to her life.

"On December 28, media reported pictures of a Rs 12 crore car for Prime Minister Modi. A person who calls himself a fakir, a pradhan sevak, uses a foreign made car," Raut said.

"The prime minister's security and comfort are important, but from now on, the pradhan sevak should not reiterate that he is a fakir (ascetic)," the Rajya Sabha member said.

A Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard was recently added to the prime minister's cavalcade by the Special Protection Group.

The price quoted for a Maybach car in a section of the media is over Rs 12 crore.

However, government sources had said the new car was a replacement of the BMW used by the prime minister as the German carmaker stopped production of the vehicle.

Official sources had also said the SPG security detail has a six-year norm to replace vehicles used for the protectee and that Modi has not given any preference on which cars to use.

They also said that the car costs about one-third of the price quoted in the media.

Raut on Sunday said Modi, who started 'swadeshi' initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Start-Up India', is using a foreign manufactured car.

Praising Jawaharlal Nehru, the Shiv Sena's spokesperson said the country's first prime minister, despite security threat after the partition, always used an Indian-made Ambassador car.

He also said that (former PM) Indira Gandhi, despite a threat to her life, did not change Sikh security personnel deployed for her security. Besides, (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi mingled with crowd in Tamil Nadu and got killed by the LTTE, he said. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

AAP workers marching towards BJP HQ detained, Sec 144 imposed

The traffic police also issued an advisory in view of the protest planned outside the BJP office at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, while entry and exit have been disallowed at the nearest ITO metro station.

'God's plan, baby': Yash Dayal redeems himself

Yash Dayal had the haunting memory of Rinku Singh's five consecutive sixes last year when Mahendra Singh Dhoni lofted his full-toss over the Chinnaswamy stadium roof in Saturday's crucial IPL match in Bengaluru.

Golden Girl Sobhita

After choosing the royal colour, Sobhita Dhulipala turned it up a notch higher and went for gold for her second appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.

Satwiksairaj-Chirag win Thailand Open badminton

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty hardly broke a sweat while defeating the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi to win the Thailand Open men's doubles crown in Bangkok on Sunday.

Kiara Dazzles At Cannes

Kiara Advani was a sight to behold at the Red Sea Film Foundation's Women in Cinema Gala dinner at the Cannes Film Festival.