Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday flagged off 50 saffron-coloured, State Road Transport Corporation buses named ‘Sankalp Seva’, which would provide service in rural areas. Incidentally, the stage was set with saffron-coloured curtains, matching the colour of the buses, which were also decked with saffron-coloured balloons.

As The India Express reports, this isn’t the first use of saffron by the state government. Earlier, the Basic Education department had replaced school bags carrying the photograph of former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav with saffron-coloured bags. The bags were to be distributed in government primary schools.

The certificates of ‘Laxman and Rani Laxmi Bai’ awards given to sportspersons on August 29, handed out by Adityanath had a saffron background as well. So did the booklet with details of the awardees.

Similarly, certificates issued to beneficiaries of the government’s flagship ‘Crop Loan Redemption Scheme’ had a light saffron background, the Express report stated. Even the blue straps of identity cards in the Secretariat Administration department have been replaced with saffron.

Asked about the colour change, Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma was quoted as saying: “We like all the colours, but saffron is our favourite because it represents tyaag, balidaan aur shaurya (sacrifice and bravery).” However, he added that the government had not taken a conscious decision to switch to saffron, it was merely coincidental.