An SUV bought by the former BJP government lying unused
The taxpayer has just paid Rs 5 crore for 30 luxury SUVs for Karnataka ministers; each costs about Rs 14 lakh, except for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Toyota Fortuner, which has been bought for Rs 22 lakh.
Garaged meanwhile at a government guest house in Bangalore, are cars in perfectly good condition, bought for the BJP ministers of the previous Jagadish Shettar regime.
Those cars are clearly not good enough for the Congress ministers who won power in May this year. NDTV counted among them eight Toyota Innovas, nine Toyota Corolla Altis, a Renault Fluence and a Chevloret Forester. The
lal battis or red beacons of power and VIP number plates have been stripped off and dumped on the car seats.
The state's Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, which is in charge of issuing cars, says it is policy to allot new cars every time the government changes. "All ministers ordered similar cars this time. Only Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has got a Toyota Fortuner SUV worth Rs. 22 lakh," shared Mr BV Kulkarni, Additional secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms.
In Karnataka, ministers can also ask for new cars if theirs has run for three years or over one lakh kilometres. The BJP's ministers had a budget of Rs 12-14 lakh; the Congress ministers can buy cars for Rs 16 lakh.
The BJP had three CMs in five years, which meant a new car was bought every time the party was forced by political upheaval to appoint a new Chief Minister. BS Yeddyurappa and his successor Sadananda Gowda preferred Honda CRVs. Only Mr Shettar, who took over from Mr Gowda, did not ask for a new car. In fact, the first 20 Innovas were approved during Mr Shettar's regime; the Congress bought 11 more after it came to power this year.
And why only ministers? In January this year, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda said he wanted a "tall and heavily built" vehicle. Promptly, a Toyota Fortuner was bought.
So what happens to the used cars, most of them in mint condition? The protocol department says these are pressed into government work or sent to districts where they are used to pick up and drop VIPs. The many cars parked at the Kumara Krupa Guest House in Bangalore suggest there is a surplus.