DRESSING DOWN

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet colleagues have apparently been given an unofficial directive to be spartan in their lifestyle. Didi wants them to travel in their constituency on foot or on a cycle. The movement of the pilot cars following their vehicles within the city has also been restricted. There’s also restriction on the use of blue beacons atop VIP vehicles. After the recovery of mounds of cash from former minister Partha Chatterjee’s close aide, Mamata seems desperate for an image makeover. While she has a simple lifestyle herself, it’s not true of some of her ministers.