Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on Friday became the first customer to receive a Tesla car from the company’s newly opened showroom at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. Calling the purchase a move to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption, Sarnaik said he intends to gift the Model Y to his grandson as a symbolic effort to build “early awareness” about green mobility.

The development sparked criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused the Shiv Sena minister and the ruling BJP of contradicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to promote “swadeshi” products by opting for an “imported American” car instead, according to the news agency PTI. 

Sarnaik had booked the Model Y a day after Tesla inaugurated its first Indian showroom in July.