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Lucknow: The Mayawati government's decision to change the colour of the uniform worn by traffic police constables has the opposition seeing red.
Traffic police constables must now be attired in navy blue trousers and white shirts instead of the all-white uniforms they had been wearing earlier. In winters, they will wear light blue jerseys and jackets.
Political parties in the state have been quick to take up issue with the state government. The Samajwadi Party and the Congress have pointed out that the new uniforms are similar in colour to those worn by volunteers of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) during public meetings and rallies.
Road railings in Lucknow were painted blue soon after the Mayawati government assumed power and the sudden interest in having traffic police uniforms has left the government's move open to conjecture.
Questions of ethics
Assailing the government for misuse of political power, Samajwadi Party leader Rajendra Chaudhary said it was extremely unethical to impose a party colour on government departments. Uttar Pradesh Congress committee spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh also raised questioned the government's ethics.
Officers at the state police headquarters, however, defended the government. The proposal for new uniforms had been sent to the government months ago, they said, adding that traffic police constables in 14 states had similar uniforms.
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