Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari has removed the beacon light from his official vehicle. (TOI photo)

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Punjab has done away with red beacons

Government abolishes red beacons for VIPs, ban to be implemented from May 1

NEW DELHI: From May 1, no VIPs or dignitary including President , PM, Chief Justice of India and chief minister will be allowed to have red beacon on their vehicles.The red beacons will be allowed only for emergency vehicles and enforcement agencies. TOI on April 12 had first reported how ending VIPs red beacon culture was there in government's agenda when Prime Minister ’s Office ( PMO ) took the meeting.Terming the decision historic, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said, "People used to feel bad about people in power and others using red beacons on their vehicle. It's a huge democratic decision."He said there have been several instances of misuse of beacons for show off."We will notify the decision after public hearing. But I appeal everyone to remove these beacons on their own," Gadkari told TOI.Soon after the Cabinet decision red beacons of Gadkari's official vehicles were removed.Last week, the PMO had called a meeting toThe road transport ministry had forwarded three options to PMO after holding consultations with senior Cabinet ministers and one of the options was to end the use of red beacons. Sources informed TOI that the proposal has been pending for more than one-and-a-half years.The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi was the first to withdraw the use of red beacons by ministers. More recently, the Amarinder Singh government in, followed by the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath.