On the morning of India’s 75th Republic Day on Friday, President Droupadi Murmu and France’s Emmanuel Macron travelled from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to be part of the grand parade at Kartavya Path.

For the short ceremonial trip, the two presidents rode on a colonial-era open air buggy and waved to crowds as they arrived at the destination ahead of the parade. After a gap of 40 years, the presidential carriage returned to the Republic Day celebrations, replacing the usual armoured limousine. 

The History Of The Buggy

The six-horse drawn, black-coloured carriage with gold-plated rims, red velvet interiors and an embossed Ashoka chakra originally belonged to the Viceroy of India during the British rule. The buggy was used for ceremonial purposes and to travel around the presidential (then Viceroy) estate.

However, when the colonial rule ended, both India and newly-formed Pakistan vied for the luxurious buggy. To decide which country would keep the buggy, the two nations came up with a unique solution.

A Lucky Coin Toss

The two neighbours left the decision up to fate and chose simply to toss a coin. India’s Colonel Thakur Govind Singh and Pakistan’s Sahabzada Yaqub Khan flipped the coin. As fate would have it, Colonel Singh won the buggy for India.

Later, the buggy was used by the President to ride from Rashtrapati Bhavan to Parliament for the oath-taking ceremony. The carriage was also used to ferry the head of state to the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk on Kartavya Path to mark the end of Republic Day celebrations on January 29.

Several years after Independence, the use of the open-carriage, which was a common transport vehicle for the President, was discontinued owing to security threats. The traditional buggy was soon replaced by bullet-proof cars.

The historic buggy made a comeback in 2014 with President Pranab Mukherjee arriving in it to attend the Beating Retreat ceremony.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) today asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to explain his position clearly on whether he will exit the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in Bihar.

RJD national vice president Shivanand Tiwari said Nitish Kumar has not replied to their queries. There is speculation Nitish Kumar would re-join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and form government again by ditching the RJD and the Congress.

“Yesterday, we asked for an appointment, but till now Nitish ji has not given us time. We thought Nitish ji won’t make such a mistake again. Now what is there to understand and know? Everything is clear. What is visible… How many times will he go (to the NDA)? He wants to create history?” Shivanand Tiwari said.

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha told reporters he expected Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), to put speculation to rest whether he is returning to the NDA.

“We formed government together for the welfare of the people and to defeat the BJP. The prevailing confusion is affecting public life in Bihar. Only the Chief Minister can dispel the confusion. We hope he will do so by this evening,” Manoj Kumar Jha said.

Many leaders were seen coming to and going from Patna’s 10, Circular Road, the bungalow allotted to RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s wife Rabri Devi, who shares the house with her husband and younger son Tejashwi Yadav, the Deputy Chief Minister.

“We have plans in place to prevent Nitish Kumar from doing to us again what he did many years ago. Our party heads the Mahagathbandhan, which is less than 20 seats short of the majority mark in the 243-strong assembly. With the Speaker belonging to our party, we will cobble up the numbers,” an RJD leader told news agency PTI.

Nitish Kumar had left the RJD-Congress combine in 2017 and formed government with the BJP, which he had fought against in the assembly election two years ago.

He returned to the anti-BJP front in August 2022, accusing the BJP of trying to engineer a split in the JD(U).

Seven people were killed when a speeding SUV rammed two motorcycles head-on and an autorickshaw from behind on a single-lane road in Odisha.

The Mahindra Scorpio SUV also hit a tractor from its side. The accident was seen on CCTV camera.

The Scorpio is seen coming in a high speed on the single-lane road. As it tries to overtake the autorickshaw, it is left with little space to clear the two oncoming bikers who are riding in the middle of the road. The collision happened after that.

Reports said the autorickshaw was carrying 15 people. Three people died on the spot; the other four died during treatment in hospital.

The police in village Bijapur, where the accident happened, have filed a case, report said.