Bhubaneswar, April 20: BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy today dubbed the Centre's decision to remove red beacons from official vehicles a "joke" and dared it to remove "all A to Z Category security" if it was serious.

"Decision to remove Red Beacon is a joke. If serious let's see Govt remove all A to Z Category security," he wrote on Twitter through his official handle @SatpathyLive.

"When traffic blocking stops, Pilot & Follow cars discontinued, real VIP culture will start crumbling. Till then this a cosmetic show," he said.

Replying to a tweet, Satpathy said: "Damodardass ji wants to show he is anti VIP culture. He should remove security first."

BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik appeared to endorse the spirit behind Satpathy's remarks. In reply to a question about Satpathy's tweets, he said: "There is no harm in doing away with it (security)."

Naveen carries the least possible security despite he being eligible for Z-plus cover.

Following the Centre's decision on Wednesday, Naveen had removed the red beacon from his official Maruti Esteem car and went back to his residence from the state secretariat in it. All his ministers today came to the secretariat in vehicles that did not have beacons.

Apart from his 20 ministers, the governor, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly, deputy chairperson of the planning board and four advisors - Sam Pitroda, Subrato Bagchi, K. Srinath Reddy and Rabi Narayan Das enjoy ministerial perquisites, which included official vehicles fitted with red beacons. Nearly a dozen heads of district planning boards, too, enjoy ministerial ranks.