30 June 2004	Wednesday	11 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

NEW DELHI, June 29: India's new Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his austere ways, has shunned custom-made BMWs ordered by his predecessor and opted to ride in domestically-made Ambassador cars, a report said on Tuesday.

The previous government spent more than 1.3 million dollars to buy for the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee six bullet-proof BMWs featuring satellite phones, fax machines and other hi-tech gadgetry.

Singh refused appeals by his security team to use the BMWs, saying he felt more comfortable in the Ambassadors, which are also bullet-proof, The Asian Age newspaper said, quoting government sources. It said the government had yet to decide what to do with the German-made luxury cars. -AFP