News Politics National Facts Kejriwal should know about India's most austere PM, Lal Bahadur Shastri

Facts Kejriwal should know about India's most austere PM, Lal Bahadur Shastri

New Delhi: In the times of Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers, who wear ordinary clothes, shun security and travel in non-descript cars, here are some illuminating facts about Lal Bahadur Shastri, India's most honest and




1. When Shastri became PM after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, he was given the official residence of Prime Minister alongwith the official Chevrolet Impala car. Shastri rarely used that car. He used it only for official ceremonies to welcome visiting heads of governments. One day, his son Sunil took the Impala car for a joyride, returned home and calmly got the car parked. When Shastri came to know about this, he asked his driver, how many kilometres the car travelled. The driver replied, 14 kilometres. Shastri ordered the driver to write "14 km, private use" in the log book. He directed his wife to pay seven paise per km for the travel to his private secretary to be deposited in the national exchequer.