Media reports on Monday gave details of the new limousine that Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
The Mercedes Maybach S650 Guard is reported to have the highest protection offered in a production car. The vehicle is designed to withstand bullet hits and even survive a bomb blast and poison gas attacks.
News 18 reported, “The S650 Guard body and the windows can withstand hardened steel core bullets. It has received a 2010 Explosion Proof Vehicle (ERV) rating and occupants are protected from a 15kg TNT explosion from a distance of only 2 meters. The interior of the window is coated with polycarbonate and the vehicle’s lower part is heavily armoured to protect the occupants from direct explosions. The cabin also receives a separate air supply in case of a gas attack.”
The S650 Guard is believed to have a price tag of over Rs 12 crore.
The move to the S650 Guard represents an upgrade for Modi over the Range Rover Vogue and Toyota Land Cruiser, he previously used.
Not surprisingly, the new limousine has already divided Twitter. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar tweeted about the news by taking a pun at Modi's frequent references to himself being a fakeer (ascetic).
Sircar tweeted, “₹12 crore plus for PM’s car! Lakhs for Maybach sunglasses for new clothes every day. God! This fakeer will never leave these perks — even when defeated.”
Manickam Tagore, the Congress MP representing Virudhunagar in the Lok Sabha, referred to the Modi government’s purchase of two VVIP Boeing 777 jets and the construction of a new residence for the prime minister. Tagore tweeted on Tuesday, “8400 crore VVIP plane for PM Modi ..13450 crores PM house for Modi… Today 12 crore Mercedes Benz for Modi… Mazalo Sahib..#Modi.”
However, many Twitter users also welcomed the upgrade as befitting the head of government. Retired lieutenant general H.S. Panag tweeted, “As I always say our PM must get the best to enable the common citizen to rise and shine…”
Retired Indian Navy officer K.P. Sanjeev Kumar, who was a test pilot, referred to the need to replace the Mi-17V5 helicopter used to ferry VVIPs. The Mi-17's safety record has been under scrutiny after a helicopter of the type crashed in Tamil Nadu earlier this month, killing 14 people including chief of defence staff general Bipin Rawat. Kumar tweeted, “Great. Now replace the souped-up Mi17V5 in Com Sqn with a credible VVIP helicopter.”
