Day after PM's save fuel appeal, BJP leader travels to Bhopal in 50-car convoy
BJP leader Saubhagya Singh Thakur travelled from Ujjain to Bhopal on Monday to formally take charge as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Textbook Corporation. However, it was not merely the appointment ceremony that drew attention, but the scale of the convoy accompanying him to the state capital.
A string of SUVs covered in garlands making its way from Ujjain to Bhopal would not usually seem too out of place. Passersby in India, after all, are accustomed to officials and leaders – political and otherwise – travelling in large convoys. However, the timing of this one particular convoy in Madhya Pradesh has turned out to be ironic.
A BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh is drawing attention after travelling in a convoy of nearly 50 vehicles, just a day after PM Modi's national appeal to cut fuel consumption amid the Iran war.
Saubhagya Singh Thakur, newly appointed chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Textbook Corporation, travelled from Ujjain to Bhopal accompanied by SUVs and supporter vehicles as he headed to take charge of his new post.
Video footage showed the convoy stretching along the highway, with supporters stopping at several locations to welcome Thakur. The repeated halts reportedly disrupted traffic at multiple points, causing inconvenience to commuters.
The visuals gained attention because they came barely two days after PM Modi publicly appealed to people to reduce petrol and diesel consumption in view of the ongoing crisis in West Asia and the pressure it could place on India’s economy.
Addressing a BJP rally in Telangana on Sunday, the Prime Minister had urged citizens to minimise unnecessary fuel use, opt for public transport, use metro services, adopt carpooling and increasingly rely on electric vehicles.
“We got into work-from-home, virtual meetings and video conferencing during COVID-19. The need of the hour is to resume those methods,” Modi had said while calling for economic restraint and conservation of foreign exchange.
He had also advised people to postpone non-essential foreign travel and discretionary spending, including gold purchases, while promoting Swadeshi products and natural farming.
However, the BJP leader’s large convoy has triggered questions over whether the Prime Minister’s public appeal for restraint and fuel conservation is being followed by leaders within his own party.
The issue has already snowballed into a wider political confrontation with the Congress alleging that the Prime Minister’s appeal for public sacrifice reflected a failure of governance.
“Yesterday, Modi Ji called upon the public to make sacrifices... These are not words of counsel; they are evidence of failure,” leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, accusing the government of shifting responsibility onto citizens.
The BJP hit back sharply, accusing the Congress of indulging in politics during a global crisis and failing to understand the importance of national economic and energy security.
BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said India imports nearly 85 per cent of its energy requirements and argued that the government’s appeal was aimed at protecting the country from global economic shocks.
“Whatever the prime minister said was the duty of the government,” Trivedi said, comparing the appeal to precautionary advisories issued during natural disasters.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also defended Modi’s remarks, saying the Prime Minister had merely asked people to make “conscious choices in the national interest” by conserving energy and promoting self-reliance.