Official vehicles of politicians and the Government officers were seen sans the customary red beacons on the first day of the special Vidhan Sabha session on Monday. The Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and various cabinet ministers had already got the red-beacons removed from their official cars following the decision of the Central Government to end use of red-beacons for various categories of vehicles. The Congress too had earlier welcomed the decision of the Central Government to prohibit the use of red beacons. Dehradun city magistrate SS Martolia said that no politician has used red beacons atop their cars on Monday.
Kailash Bisht (changed name), a government school principal, said that the people often saw these flashing lights as shining examples of power and VIP status, more than security aids. Even lower-level politicians and officials misuse the beacons to show off their importance, especially in smaller towns, he said.
Ramesh, a Dehradun-based businessman, said that it is a good move on the part of the Prime Minister and state chief minister to end the VIP culture by deciding that beacon lights would be removed from all vehicles, except emergency vehicles, like ambulances and fire brigade. “The vehicles with beacon lights, which are seen as a symbol of VIP culture, was an anachronism for the democratic functioning of a government, a legacy bequeathed by the earlier British regime. We are elated that the lal batti cars have become a thing of the past on this day the world celebrates as the workers’ day," he added.
It should be mentioned here that following the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trivendra Singh Rawat government had recently decided to ban red beacons atop cars of all ministers, politicians and bureaucrats, ending the privilege that marked gulf between the rulers and the ruled. The ban, effective from Monday , doesn’t exempt even vehicles of the country’s top dignitaries such as the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India. But ambulances and vehicles of the fire service, police, and army will be allowed to use blue flashing beacons to cut through traffic. About six categories of beacons — primarily red, blue and yellow — are in use in India. But the red, or the coveted “lal batti”, has been drawing maximum attention as an elitist VIP symbol since the British rulers introduced it.