With the transport department beginning the process of procuring eight Toyota Fortuner vehicles for chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah, the Opposition leaders have criticised the move. The department has also got ₹ 3.04 crore sanctioned for the project.
As per the government notification, of these eight high end vehicles, four will be used in Delhi, while two each will be kept at the disposal of CM in Srinagar and Jammu. The social circles were abuzz asking the CM whether he thinks if there are any more important priorities in the UT than buying fresh high-end vehicles for his entourage. Former Apni Party leader and city mayor Junaid Azim Mattu said that when he was mayor, instead of getting new vehicles he used old ones and got the funds meant for vehicles diverted to developmental works.
“The government, as per protocol of the mayor and as a minister of state, approved purchase of two new official vehicles for my use. I respectfully refused — instead used a 10-year-old car during my entire term. The money meant for the two new cars went to developmental works,” Mattu wrote on X.
Former deputy mayor Sheikh Imran also criticised the CM for getting new vehicles. “Welcome to the politics of J&K. On one side we have the LG who in a rare and commendable display of pragmatism, continues to use the old cavalcades of former CMs and has grounded state plane services recognising that an erstwhile poor state—and now an even poorer UT—cannot afford such extravagance.
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