Monday, January 19, 2009

Back to the Future, PM at RTO


Amid indications of the Congress using him as a Trojan horse to park Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi into power at the PMO, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday literally drove down memory lane and into the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to get his driving licence renewed.

Singh, perhaps, attempting to get used to life without prime ministerial privileges, turned down proposals by the RTO to do the needful at the PMO itself, chose to drive to the office in the company of his wife, Gursharan Kaur.

Normally, VVIP driving licences are delivered to applicants’ addresses, bypassing procedures meant for the man on the street.

The PMO insisted that Singh wanted his licence renewed with as little fuss as possible. There were specific instructions that the PM did not want Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit waiting for him at the Transport office.

The PMO had apparently informed the Transport Department on Friday about Singh’s plans, and the RTO was especially opened on Sunday so that the procedure could be gone through quietly.

Singh reached the RTO at 1120 hours and completed procedural requirements over the next 15 minutes.

After getting his licence renewed till 2014, the PM signed the visitors’ book and left for Race Course Road. Drivers above the age of 45 must have their licences renewed every five years. The PM is 76.

Several Congressmen, especially those in the Youth Congress have been training cadres to counter the NDA prime ministerial shadow LK Advani by highlighting the finer points of Rahul Gandhi, a ploy that finds no expression in the Congress’ publicized line of action, which says the party is committed to contesting the polls under the prime minister.

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