End
of Red Beacons : A big blow to VIP culture
*Nivedita
Khandekar
“Well begun is half done.” That was what the famous Greek
philosopher said. Union Cabinet’s decision of doing away with the lal batti culture
is a good start for a battle that can prove to be a long one.
On Wednesday, April 19, 2017, the Union Cabinet decided
to amend the Motor Vehicle Rules to end the use of red or any coloured beacon
by all, including the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister. “Every
Indian is special. Every Indian is a VIP,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted
soon after.
“The Union Cabinet, in
its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today decided to do
away with beacons of all kinds atop all categories of vehicles in the country.
The government is of the considered opinion that beacons on vehicles are
perceived symbols of VIP Culture, and have no place in a democratic country.
They have no relevance whatsoever. Beacons, however, will be allowed on vehicles
concerned with emergency and relief services, ambulance, fire service etc. In
the light of this decision the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways will
make necessary provisions in the law,” was the brief statement by the Ministry
of Road Transport & Highways.
Immediately, the next day, i.e. on Thursday, April 20,
2017, gazette notification was issued.
Soon after, the television channels and news portals were
flashing the breaking news even as the social media was full of gleeful
messages. The wide spread joy at the news that had a direct bearing on few
thousand people – those whose cars were allowed beacons, red, orange or any
other colour – sent a message to the scores of tens and thousands of others.
The message that can be seen as assurance. The message that can be seen as
promise. The message that signifies a change. The message that can be seen to
end discrimination.
The Supreme Court Ruling
The government has taken forward a Supreme Court ruling
of December 2013. It had sought to restrict the use of red beacons even with an
amendment in the relevant law. The Supreme Court, while hearing the petition on
VIP culture, observed, “One of the issues highlighted in the note was that if
the instinct of power is concentrated in few individuals, then naked greed for
power will destroythe basics of democratic principles. But, what we have done
in the last four decades would shock the most established political systems. …
… … The best example of this is the use of symbols of authority including the
red lights on the vehicles of public representatives from the lowest to the
highest and civil servants of various cadres. The red lights symbolize power
and a stark differentiation between those who are allowed to use it and the
ones who are not”.
The Amicus Curiae in the case had informed that the red
beacon had actually become a status symbol and those using such vehicles treat
themselves as a class different than ordinary citizens. He also told the Court
that “the widespread use of red lights on government vehicles in the country is
reflective of the mentality of those who served British Government in India and
threatened the natives as slaves.”
Cabinet Announcement brings cheers
Soon after the announcement by the Union Cabinet, Chief
Ministers of several states announced removal of beacons from their cars. These
included Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand to name a
few. Several other states too followed suit. It was an attempt at redemption so
to say. Some others like the Chief Ministers of Tripura and Delhi have not been
using red beacons earlier too. More recently, soon after their swearing in as
Chief Ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, both Amarinder Singh and Yogi
Adityanath declared that they will not be using any red beacon cars. Newspaper
reports indicate that the Supreme Court Judges and the Election Commission of
India have also ordered removing of beacons from their cars.
‘Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a
VIP’
The Union Cabinet’s decision to do away with the lal
batti culture is indeed a welcome step in right direction. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi tweeted: “Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a VIP.”
Every Indian is special. Every
Indian is a VIP. https://t.co/epXuRdaSmY
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19,
2017
After this, one can hope that the
access or the privileges that come with the VIP tag would soon be gone and each
Indian would have opportunities on par. One can hope the poor is not deprived
of good education for his child because of some VIP quota snatched away his
ward’s admission to good schools funded by government. One can hope that a
patient from remote hamlet will get treatment for a rare heart problem and not
be sent away because some people with influence are to be given preference at
public health facilities.
We can take pride in the fact that it is the Prime
Minister who has himself promised: “Every Indian is special. Every Indian is a
VIP.” Let us hope that this step will bring an end to the clout that red beacon
symbolized.
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*Author is an independent journalist based in
Delhi. She writes on environmental, developmental and social issues. The
opinions expressed above are her personal.