HD Kumaraswamy Drives an SUV, His Ministers Demand Luxury Cars; Opposition Attacks Over His ‘Austerity’ Move
The newly-formed government ministers have allegedly demanded high-end luxurious Fortuner car and not the usual Innova.
Karnataka, June 21: After seeing a lot of political tension and bickering between the JD(S)-Congress and BJP, Karnataka state is now in the news again. This time, the ministers in the newly-formed government ministers have allegedly demanded high-end luxurious Fortuner car and not the usual Innova. They have reportedly claimed that the Innova is too small and won't be comfortable for them.
Karnataka minister and Congress leader Zameer Ahmed Khan had also demanded a Toyota Fortuner instead of an Innova allotted to him by the government, stating that he needs a bigger car as he is used to it. “I am used to travelling in a big car. The Toyota Innova car given by the DPAR is a small one. It will be good if the Toyota Toyota Fortuner that Siddaramaiah (former chief minister) was using is given to me,”quoted by the Financial Express in their news report.
After Khan's luxurious demand, CM Kumaraswamy is also in the news for similar reasons. Though, as a protocol he has been given the former CM's cars, he is using his SUV. The SUV happens to be a high-end, customised Range Rover, which costs about Rs 1.5 crore. Kumaraswamy, whose visions to provide loan waiver to his state farmers, has reportedly drawn a lot of flak from his rival parties for using a posh car. The opposition leaders taunted him, saying that it's all very well to preach austerity from the comfort of a customised Range Rover.
The statement has come following CM Kumaraswamy's diktat to his ministers to observe austerity; he had also directed them to not buy new cars and cut down the expenses on refurbishing and renovation of their offices and bungalows. The move was claimed to be one the measures, which will help fulfil his promise to waive farm loans — reportedly pegged at a staggering Rs. 50,000 crores.
Furthermore, the alleged reason behind Kumarswamy using his own SUV is his frail health. He has been asked by the doctors to not put much strain on his body, which is why he is using his customised car.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2018 03:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).