Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's Minister for Electricity M M Mani, often known for his loudmouth, has almost literally driven himself into a controversy. A reply to an RTI query has revealed that he changed 34 tyres of his car in just two years.
The 'revelation' triggered a series of trolls and even dragged a stunned Toyota as Mani uses the company's Innova Crysta.
For a change, Mani initially did not have a response on his 'Tyre Yojana' programme when reporters asked him about how he burnt so much rubber on the road. In fact, Mani was elected from a constituency known for rubber production.
But later he tried to wash off his hands through a Facebook post saying he did not know anything about the tyre change as this was handled by the Tourism Department.
In contrast to Mani's 'road show,' Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who travels more across Kerala, changed only 11 tyres in two years. The facts were revealed in an RTI sent by Kochi native S Dhanaraj.
But the 'tyre scam' set off trolls with many asking Mani whether he donated the tyres to his supporters or if the bad roads were responsible. Even the Opposition Congress joined the trollers in cornering the minister.
The government is yet to respond to the issue. But when someone sent the query to Toyota, the company, in all seriousness, said it is looking into the matter. This reply was enough for trollers to have fun on the social media.
(To download our E-paper please click here. The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
