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Madhya Pradesh CM spent Rs 3 crore on five-day US trip: RTI reply
By
Sidhartha DuttaNew Delhi, Aug 17
An eight-member delegation
led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spent close
to Rs.3 crore ($465,000/$58,000 per head) on a five-day US trip in
February, which included giving expensive gifts to investors, the reply
to an RTI querry has revealed.
The reply, received from the
Madhya Pradesh Trade and Investment Facilitation Corporation Limited by
whistle blower Ajay Dubey in July, revealed that on its visit to the US
to meet American business leaders and potential investors, the
delegation spent Rs.198,421 on gifts.
It also mentioned that 10
woollen shawls worth Rs.119,990 (Rs.11,999 each) were gifted to the
guests, apart from ties and silver idols worth Rs.78,431. The visit was
from January 31 to February 4 on the invitation of the US-India Business
Council to meet business community leaders and investors.
The
RTI reply also revealed that the expenditure for hotel rooms and air
travel was Rs.30 lakh ($46,000) each ($5,750 per head), while Rs.25 lakh
was spent on taxi rides, Rs.6 lakh went for daily perks and Rs.1.30
crore in rental for the 'Friends of MP Conclave' venue. Another Rs.75
lakh was spent on other promotional and miscellaneous charges. The total
expenditure was Rs.2.96 crore over five days.
Among the others
who accompanied the chief minister were Yashodhara Raje Scindia, the
minister for commerce, industry and employment, Mohammed Suleman,
principal secretary, department of commerce, industry & employment;
S.K. Mishra, principal secretary to the chief minister; Vivek Aggarwal,
secretary to the chief minister; Anupam Rajan, MD, of the MP Laghu Udyog
Nigam Ltd. (MP Small Scale Industries Corporation); Manish Singh, MD,
Madhya Pradesh Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam (Indore) Limited; and Devhuti
Bakshi of Ernst & Young.
"The chief minister was planning
another foreign tour to Sweden recently, but this was cancelled by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. To spend almost Rs.3 crore on a five-day tour
to the US is huge. It is a lot of money for a state like Madhya Pradesh.
Moreover, making a foreign tour to meet potential investors when Vyapam
scam was at its peak is not acceptable," Dubey told IANS.
Madhya
Pradesh has been mired in the Vyapam scam for years but the
irregularities eventually came to light when 20 people were arrested in
2013 for impersonating candidates appearing for the 2009 medical
entrance examination.
Forty-five people associated with the Vyapam scam have died - mostly unnaturally or under mysterious circumstances.
The CBI has already registered 67 FIRs and launched 12 preliminary inquiries into the Vyapam scam.