Senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar took a swipe at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his recent motorcycle ride to the Vidhan Bhavan, labeling it a publicity exercise and questioning its legality regarding vehicle compliance. In a post on X, Wadettiwar remarked, 'In the craze of a publicity stunt, the Chief Minister did take a bullet ride, true, but this bullet's PUC has expired. Now, will the police, who keep catching and fining ordinary folks on the roads, tear up the chief minister's receipt?'
The comments came a day after Fadnavis traveled from his official residence, Varsha, to the state legislature in South Mumbai on a motorcycle to attend the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected members of the legislative council. He was accompanied by BJP leader and minister Ashish Shelar. The symbolic gesture was part of a broader push by the state government to highlight fuel conservation, following an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce fuel consumption amid concerns linked to geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
On the same day, state minister Nitesh Rane walked to Mantralaya to attend the cabinet meeting, also presenting it as a message of austerity. Earlier this week, Fadnavis announced a series of cost-cutting measures, including halving the number of vehicles in ministerial convoys and cancelling foreign tours for ministers and government officials.
