By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Ambassador car, India’s traditional official vehicle, remains favoured by only four Kerala ministers, including Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan — though less than four years ago, the full 19-member cabinet publicy flaunted their red-beaconed white Ambassadors.
In May 2006 when the cabinet took office, TV channels showed 19 gleaming Ambassador cars lined up near the basketball court of the Central Stadium here where the swearing-in ceremony took place.
Now, almost four years after the ceremony, these cars have been dumped by 15 ministers, with only Achuthanandan, S. Sarma (Fisheries Minister), M. Vijayakumar (Law) and G. Sudhakaran (Cooperation) still using them.
Of the 15 ministers who have chosen to be driven in cars other than the Ambassador, 11 can be seen using various models of Skoda while four others use Innova.
Achuthanandan had Tuesday informed the Kerala assembly that a total of Rs.2.34 crore has been spent on buying luxury cars for the ministers.