Keralam LSGD Minister KM Shaji Under Fire For Using Luxury SUV

Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Minister K M Shaji's use of an ultra-luxury car as his official vehicle has sparked a political row, with a prominent Opposition leader on Friday questioning his claim that it belongs to a friend and was used because the government vehicle assigned to him was unfit for long-distance travel.

Shaji, a firebrand Indian Union Muslim League leader holding the LSGD portfolio, has said he would not claim even a rupee from the government for travelling in the Range Rover belonging to his friend.

"It belongs to my friend. Anyone can verify it. I do not intend to take even a rupee from the government for travelling in this vehicle," Shaji told the media.

He said he had been forced to depend on his friend's vehicle as the one provided by the government was not suitable for long-distance travel.

"The vehicle given to me by the government is not capable of travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to other places. It is a vehicle that has been used extensively and has travelled nearly four lakh kilometres. So I used my friend's vehicle for local travel," Shaji said.

"I don't get diesel for it, and I don't get money for the kilometres travelled. It is actually a loss for me," the minister said.

Former Keralam minister and Left leader K T Jaleel launched a sharp attack on Shaji over his use of a friend's Range Rover as his official vehicle, calling the arrangement a "violation of the oath of office" and saying it was a "matter of shame" for the V D Satheesan-led government.

Reacting to Shaji's explanation that the government-provided car was not fit for long-distance travel, Jaleel, in a Facebook post, said the chief minister and Tourism minister should intervene and provide Shaji with a relatively new government Innova Crysta instead of allowing him to depend on a private vehicle.

"The fact that a minister in the Satheesan government has to travel in a borrowed car is a matter of shame," he said.

Questioning the ethical implications of using a friend's luxury vehicle, Jaleel said, "Naturally, as a human being, he may have a special affection for the friend who gave him the car. But would that not be contrary to the words he uttered while taking the oath that he would act without any special favour or prejudice towards anyone?"

Shaji said the official number plate had been put on the vehicle with government permission.

He said the background of the vehicle's owner could be verified by anyone.

"You can investigate who owns the vehicle and where he is from. You can check whether he is a criminal or whether there are any issues with his background. That is why I have no fear," he said.

Jaleel said that even if Shaji had received the Range Rover free of charge from a close friend, using it as an official vehicle after fitting it with the required government insignia and equipment was "not ethically right at all".

He asked what would happen if other ministers too abandoned their official vehicles and began travelling in luxury cars such as Mercedes and Range Rovers obtained free of charge.

"Shaji and I, along with other public figures, speak against extravagance. If we ourselves travel in luxury cars and advise people to give up extravagance, how will they judge us?" he asked.