In a time when flashing red beacons and a line of speeding escort vehicles are considered an added status symbol by Ministers and netas, a Jharkhand Minister has shown the way, at least for the rest of his Cabinet colleagues.
Holding charge of Parliamentary Affairs and Food and Civil Supplies Department and the senior-most Minister in the Raghubar Das Government, Saryu Roy has declined to take an escort party while touring his constituency i.e. West Jamshedpur.
“I feel awkward when escort vehicles run before and after my official vehicle, even when I am among my own people in the constituency. I needed a free consultation with the people. So, when I arrived here on Friday, I sent back the police escort vehicles deployed for me,” Roy told The Pioneer over phone from Jamshedpur on Saturday.
Moreover, the Minister clarified that the security provided to him by the Government and other related protocol would remain as per the assessment in other areas. "I wanted this for my constituency only. Elsewhere, the administration would provide security according to the need," added Roy.
Notably Ministers and privileged persons in the Government and even outside it are often blamed for towing cavalcade when on wheels. On several occasions common residents and commuters on roads have accused the escort party of misbehaving with people while clearing the way for VVIPs. The issue had even come up before the Assembly during the last Government when Ranchi MlA CP Singh had complained about highhandedness on the part of security men on roads.