BHUBANESWAR : Walking his talk of leading a people’s government, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday chose to travel to Chandigarh on a regular commercial flight from the city instead of using a private or chartered flight, which are normally preferred by top politicians.
Majhi and his wife, Priyanka Marandi, opted for commercial travel despite the arrangement of two special aircraft for their three-day tour to Haryana and Maharashtra.
Official sources indicated that a Legasi 650 charter flight had been booked for the CM’s travel, which would have cost Rs 91.22 lakh for three days. A Falcon 200 charter flight, costing Rs 78.55 lakh, was also considered. However, due to the high rental costs of the chartered flights, the CM decided to travel like a common passenger on a commercial flight to avoid unnecessary expenses and save public money.
Majhi is scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Nayab Singh Saini’s government in Chandigarh on October 17, followed by a meeting of the chief ministers of NDA-ruled states. He will proceed to Mumbai the next morning.
The CM has been asserting that he is leading a people’s government and trying to set an example by living a less ostentatious life compared to the previous government, during which a bureaucrat-turned-politician splurged public money on district tours via helicopter.