Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and the state ministers today removed the red beacon light from their official cars.
The step comes a day after the central government decided to go in for a ban on red beacon from May 1 except for a few vehicles like ambulance, even as few other states like Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh followed suit.
While Governor Solanki ordered removal of the beacon lights from all the vehicles which are part of his cavalcade, Chief Minister Khattar too made a similar decision, an official spokesman told PTI here.
"The Chief Minister has removed the beacon from his car and also from those which are part of his cavalcade," Khattar's media advisor Amit Arya said.
In fact, some ministers including Kavita Jain, Nayab Singh Saini, Manish Grover as also BJP's state unit president Subhash Barala pulled down the beacon lights themselves from their vehicles.
Khattar said he agrees with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that every Indian is a VIP and the culture of beacons on VIP vehicles should have gone long ago.
"It is not that people will know you only when you have a beacon atop the vehicle. Such symbols don't matter," Khattar said.
The Union Cabinet had yesterday made a decision to ban red beacons atop vehicles. Beacons, however, will be allowed on vehicles concerning emergency and relief services, ambulance and fire service.
Haryana Urban Local Bodies minister Kavita Jain, who herself removed the red beacon from her official vehicle, said like demonetisation, the decision taken by Prime Minister Modi on use of beacon lights was a historic one.
"It will help bridge the gap between the common man and dignitaries," she told reporters.
Jain said it also reflected that the BJP government and its ministers were working on the ideology of 'Sabka Saath- Sabka Vikas'.
Haryana Minister of State for Cooperation Manish Kumar Grover said the initiative would help strengthen democratic values in the country.
He added that all public representatives should render selfless service to the society instead of enjoying fruits of power.
"I always felt that there is no need for special treatment or privileges such as red beacon. This is a positive step which is being appreciated by the common man and will go a long way in bringing the government closer to people," he said.
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