Ex-PM Lal Bahadur Shastri's PNB Loan

In 1965, the then Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri bought a Fiat car after taking a loan of Rs.5000/- from Punjab National Bank(PNB). When his loan was approved on the same day, Shastri told the bank, "The common man too should have the same privilege". He died at Tashkent in 1966 before he could repay the loan amount. The bank promptly wrote to his widowed wife Lalita Shastri for repayment of the loan of Rs. 5000/- which her husband owed. The lady promised to pay back in installments from her family pension. She repaid every rupee of RS.5000/-

It was a cream coloured Fiat with the registration number DLE 6, which is still exhibited at Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial.

The Fiat car still stands at his home reminding of the era of a different breed of men and women.

-@arkadian