KASARGOD: The special bus, in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and ministers travelled for the Nava Kerala Sadas, became a star attraction on Saturday. The bus attracted the attention of several people in the wake of the 'luxury controversy' raised by the opposition. People thronged to click photos and selfies with the bus. The bus completely rejects the luxury argument raised by the opposition. Except for the bio-toilet, it is almost similar to the AC Volvo Bus.

The 24-seater bus, manufactured in Mandya in Bengaluru, was delivered to AR Camp in Kasaragod on Friday night. At 2 pm on Saturday, the bus was brought to the guest house to pick up the Chief Minister and ministers. The bus was heavily guarded by commandos of the Chief Minister and personnel of the IRB and police forces. No one was allowed to go near the bus. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has invited the media persons to check the 'luxury' of the bus directly. After the Nava Kerala Sadas programme, the bus will be used for KSRTC's tourism trips.

Driven by Praveen Kumar

Driver TP Praveen Kumar was the one who was assigned to drive the "superstar" bus on its maiden journey. It was Praveen Kumar who picked up the Chief Minister and the ministers from Kasaragod and then took them to the Paivalike Nagar school where the inauguration took place. He is an experienced driver at KSRTC Thiruvananthapuram Central Depot. Eight driver-cum-conductors, including Praveen Kumar, have been assigned to drive the bus. All of them are employees of Central Depot and have experience driving Volvo and Scania long-distance buses.

Minister Riyas posts cabinet selfie, other ministers come Live on Facebook
PWD Minister Mohammed Riyas on Saturday posted a 'cabinet selfie' clicked inside the special Nava Kerala Sadas bus on his Facebook page. Other ministers posted Live videos on Facebook showing that the bus was an ordinary one and that there was nothing luxurious inside the bus

"Media is spreading false claims. A section of the media had reported that there was a swimming pool and a lift on the bus. The Chief Minister and other ministers are sitting on ordinary chairs," the ministers pointed out during the Live video.

"Came to know that one channel had reported that we got off the bus after it broke down soon after we started the journey. We only got down to see the works of the first reach of NH 66 for which the government is spending 5600 crores. The only additional things inside the bus are a wash basin and an attached bathroom," Mohammed Riyas said.