Narendra Modi govt bans use of red beacon lights on VVIP vehicles across India from 1 May

New Delhi, April 19,2017 (FP): The Narendra Modi Cabinet has taken a decision to stop the use of red beacon lights atop official VVIP vehicles. The decision will come into effect from 1 May, according to media reports. "Red beacon to be removed from cars of Prime Minister and all ministers," Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari confirmed after Wednesday's Cabinet meeting. Gadkari said beacon to be allowed only on emergency service vehicles from 1 May to end VIP culture and removes his own car's light. Once this comes into effect, the report in The Financial Express said, only officials of five categories — prime minister, president, vice-president, Chief Justice of India, and the Lok Sabha Speaker — will be allowed to use the beacons. The decision comes just days after the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab had issued a formal notification on 15 April, prohibiting the use of red beacons on all vehicles barring those belonging to a few high dignitaries, a step aimed to end the VIP culture in Punjab. The Punjab government's notification, issued by the Department of Transport under Rule 108 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, supersedes all previous notifications on the use of red and other coloured beacon lights, an official spokesperson had said. As per the notification, red lights with flashers can now be used only by a few high dignitaries, including the Punjab governor, and the chief justice and judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. According to Hindustan Times, in March, a video had gone viral in which power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit was heard expressing his resentment against the government's decision of banning beacon lights. There were reports saying beacon lights were being allegedly bought by ordinary people in order to gain easy access. The reports said the beacon lights were easily available in car accessory shops for Rs 2,500 per piece. With inputs from PTI