One may wonder why PM Manmohan Singh drove to a transport office on a Sunday to get his driving licence renewed when officers could have got it done for him.
One may wonder why prime minister Manmohan Singh drove to a transport office on a Sunday to get his driving licence renewed when officers could have got it done for him.
According to the rule, only the president and governors have the privilege of getting the regional transport officers to go to their residence and renew driving licences.
"The prime minister, chief ministers of states or any other ministers do not enjoy this privilege. We go to the president's house or governors' place to avoid inconvenience to public," a senior officers in the Delhi Transport Department said.
The prime minister had gone to the RTO at Indraprastha in central Delhi to renew his driving license that had expired 45 days ago but he made one concession to security by choosing a Sunday to go there along with his wife Gursharan Kaur, who also renewed her license.
To get new biometric driving licences or renewal, one has to go to the RTO in person and be photographed and fingerprinted. The new system - SAARTHI - is connected to a server.
Moreover, officers say, it was difficult to move the equipment to the prime minister's office (PMO) or his official residence as the new system was connected to a server which caters to about 15 other such offices.
"There was a thinking in the beginning to take the machines to the prime minister's place. But after discussions and getting security clearance, Singh and his wife decided to come to the office," the officer said.
Earlier, every RTO office had individual machines which could be taken to any other places. "Now the machines are connected to a server and other offices are also interlinked," the officer said.
At the transport office, the 76-year-old prime minister completed the required formalities like getting himself photographed and fingerprinted as required for the new biometric license. He also produced the mandatory medical fitness certificate.
The renewed license was handed over to the prime minister by Motor Licensing Officer Pradeep Anand.
The RTO which does not function on Sundays was specially kept open for the prime minister. Weekdays at the transport offices attract huge rush.
Home minister P Chidambaram, sports minister MS Gill and congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi also had gone to the same facility recently to get their licences renewed.
The prime minister had got the license from the same RTO in the 1990s when he was finance minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government.
Earlier, he got it renewed in 2003, when he was leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha.
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