Gandhinagar: Gujarat state exchequer has
spent Rs 19.76 crore on the state Chief Minister Narendra Modi`s air travel, both domestic and overseas, between 2003
and 2008, state Congress alleged on Tuesday.
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president
Arjun Modhvadiya made this allegation in the state legislative
assembly.
"The expenditure of 114 air trips that were made by
the Gujarat chief minister between 2009 and 2010, are still to
be made available by the state officials," Modhvadiya said
while speaking during the discussion on budgetary demands for
the General Administration Department 2012-13.
According to Modhvadiya, Modi had visited China three
times and Switzerland twice, besides Singapore, Hong Kong,
Japan and other Asian countries.
During his China tour last year, he was accompanied by
a high-level delegation of corporate head honchos, including
Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, Torrent Group MD Sudhir
Mehta, Essar`s group chairman Shashi Ruia, Reliance Industries
Limited (RILs) Parimal Nathwani, among others, he said.
In 2003, the Guajrat chief minister had undertaken
five air travels, incurring expenditure of Rs 1.25 crore, 2004
(16) costing Rs 3.54 crore, 2005 (21) amounting to over Rs
3.48 crore, 2006 (24) spending Rs 4.99 crore, 2007 (over 34)
for Rs 3.23 crore and 2008 (over 42) costing Rs 3.20 crore, he
said.
Modhvadiya alleged that Modi had visited New York,
Houston, San Fransico and Los Angeles with two state ministers
and a bureaucrat, without clearance of the Centre,
incurring an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh.
PTI
