I can't travel economy class: Pawar

No first class air travel, no seminar in five-star hotels, 10 per cent cut in all domestic and foreign tour expenses, 10 per cent cut in advertisements — these are some of the directives the finance ministry issued to all government departments as a part of the new austerity drive.

While Congress ministers have moved out of five-star facilities and cancelled foreign tours, adhering to the strong advice of party president Sonia Gandhi, the UPA government’s drive today came under some questioning today from an ally with a mind of its own. According to sources, Nationalist Congress Party members Sharad Pawar, agriculture minister, and Praful Patel, civil aviation minister, today raised questions on it at a cabinet meeting. While Pawar told his colleagues it is not possible for him to travel in the economy class of flights, Patel asked why ministries can’t hold programmes at five-star hotels. According to insiders, Pawar cited reasons related to health and privacy to avoid travelling on economy class tickets. He said in domestic flights he couldn’t sit properly in an economy class seat and there was no proper privacy for a minister to travel.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, sitting next to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stepped in to give a reply. He said that if it’s “absolutely necessary”, then ministries can hold programmes in five-star hotels. He also said Congress ministers and party functionaries have chosen to travel on economy class tickets.

The allies may choose their own ways, but all ministries have to ensure there is a cut of 10 per cent of its non-plan expenses. Mukherjee had sent letters on Monday to all ministers to reduce their non-plan expenses.

Mukherjee also noted that these measures have been planned only for a year, in the backdrop of drought.

The Congress’ star general secretary, Rahul Gandhi, today joined the fray and said politicians should be somewhat austere all the time. "As a politician, you have a duty to be austere anyway," he said in a press conference at Chennai during his Tamil Nadu tour. Adding, "I generally tend to keep myself austere", pointing out to his khadi white kurta-pyjama, "I don't go through phases. So, I don't think that you should have austerity measures in a phase and no measures in another phase. I don't really get interested in these kinds of things."