Austerity drive: Ministers to travel economy class

New Delhi, Sep 10: Continuing the austerity drive, UPA has now asked its cabinet ministers to travel in economy class and refraining from holding press conferences in five-star hotels.

"All the ministers have been advised to travel in economy class and not to hold press conferences in five-star hotels to save money in adverse times," a senior official revealed on Thursday, Sep 10.

This comes after two external affairs ministers, SM Krishna and his deputy, Shahsi Tharoor were asked to move out of 5-star suites on Tuesday, 8.

"She (Sonia Gandhi) wants the party leaders to set an example by following a simple lifestyle as a mark of concern for those facing adverse conditions," a senior party leader was quoted as saying.

This campaign started in Aug 2009 when the Congress members were asked to give up 20 pc of their salaries for drought relief in their respective states.

OneIndia News