Saffron is turning out to be the official colour of the Yogi Adityanath government with the Chief Minister’s Office set to flaunt a saffron hue. This is after chairs and upholstery at the CMO and at at the CM’s residence being replaced by saffron coloured articles.
On Monday, workers could be seen painting the borders of CM’ office in saffron colour. A senior official told ‘The Pioneer’ that white has been replaced by saffron as per the wishes of the Chief Minister.
The CMO office has traidionally been painted in white or off-white colour projecting a suavé look to the most powerful office of Uttar Pradesh. Even in previous regimes where the ruling SP and BSP had been colour conscious, official dais, railing or road dividers were painted in the official party colour but no government tried to tampered with the colour scheme of lal Bahadur Shahri Bhawan – beetter known as Secretariat Annexe, which houses the CM’s office on the fifth floor.
Earlier on September 25, the BJP government launched saffron colour buses named after Deen Dayal Upadhaya. A set of 50 such buses called ‘Sankalp Sewa’ was introduced by UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) to carry passengers to remote rural areas where there was no other mode of transport. Officials claimed that there was nothing wrong in it and since the colour was attractive, hence it was selected.
After Yogi came to power, the BJP government ordered distribution of saffron bags to primary school-going children, who earlier got red and green bags given by the previous Samajwadi Party regime.
On completion of 100 days in office, when UP Information department came out with a booklet, it made it a point to make it saffron. Thereafter, each and every publication brought out on behalf of different government departments has been in just one colour - saffron.
The file covers in government offices and even I-cards of government officers are saffron in colour.
The politics of using the party’s colour in official publications or at official events was started by the Mayawati regime after she became Chief Minister for the first time in 1995. She would make it a point to ensure that the ‘pandal’ of each of her public functions was in her party’s blue. Official publications, including Information department’s diary was also in that color.
She, in fact, went overboard by even changing the colour of the road dividers to blue and white - against the internationally accepted yellow and black.
Thereafter, the party that came to power made it an unwritten rule to switch colours. Mulayam and his son Akhilesh gave everything a red and/or green tinge. Sure enough, each time there was a change of guard between BSP and SP, the change of colours was too conspicuous. And, Yogi clearly took the cake in keeping the tradition alive and kicking.
