Austerity drive: Krishna too opts for economy class

FLYING LOW: S M Krishna decided to travel abroad in economy class in a commercial flight.

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New Delhi: No private planes for official trips abroad and no-no to meetings in five-star hotels. A competitive austerity drive in the government has kicked in, with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna deciding to forgo private jets and travel abroad economy class in a commercial flight.

Krishna will go to Turkmenistan, the gas-rich Central Asian country, and Belarus on Tuesday on a commercial flight and will only take along three officials with him, official sources said.

The minister is normally accompanied by at least half a dozen officials on his trips abroad in an Air Force Embraer jet. Since the Embraer can't fly non-stop for more than four hours, the minister takes commercial flights and travels business class when he goes to far-off places like Australia and Brazil.

But in the aftermath of criticism Krishna and his deputy Shashi Tharoor drew following disclosures that they were staying in five-star hotels for over three months in the capital, austerity has become the reigning mantra.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who announced a slew of austerity measures in view of the drought and recession, led by example by flying economy class aboard a low-cost carrier to Kolkata on Saturday.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has already issued an order to stop holding Railway Board meetings in star hotels. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh have announced their support for austerity measures.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath is learnt to have cancelled her tour to New York. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad joined in the austerity drive by asking officials to cut down on foreign and domestic travel.

Last week, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal cancelled a goodwill visit by a parliamentary delegation to Egypt and Greece to save the government exchequer some money.

In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, some ministers voiced reservations about the practicality of their travelling in economy class, especially on trips abroad. The prime minister reportedly agreed to make exceptions in some cases for taking business class, provided advance permission is sought.