Rs 6.56 Cr ‘Misc’ Expenses During PM’s 2-Day Visit To Kazan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with 'bhajans' by ISKCON followers in Kazan, Russia in October 2024
Indian embassies abroad have generally been hesitant to share information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, particularly regarding expenses related to the Prime Minister’s overseas visits.
However, the Indian embassies in Abu Dhabi and Moscow have made exceptions by responding to RTI queries from transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (rtd).
Both embassies reported that the expenses for each prime ministerial visit were approximately Rs 5 crore, primarily spent on hotel bookings and vehicle rentals.
The responses provided were likely approved by the Ministry of External Affairs and the heads of the missions, resulting in predictable information without details on the number of officials or personal staff accompanying the Prime Minister.
There are also unanswered questions about whether professional or amateur dancers, musicians, and cheerleaders travel from India to welcome the Prime Minister during his visits.
For instance, during the PM’s visit to Moscow in July 2024, Rs 20 lakh was allocated for daily allowances, and Rs 25 lakh was spent during his two-day visit to Kazan in October 2024. It remains unclear if any of this money went to cheerleaders.
The embassy in Moscow reported spending Rs 1.87 crore on a community reception for Prime Minister Modi in July. When asked about sponsors for these receptions, the Abu Dhabi embassy mentioned an organization called “Ahlan Modi”, that helped organize the community interaction.
In contrast, the Moscow embassy implied that it was responsible for inviting and hosting Indian community leaders.
Additionally, there is a significant amount of Rs 6.56 crore categorized as ‘miscellaneous’ expenses during the PM’s two-day visit to Kazan, which exceeds the costs for hotels, transportation, daily allowances and community events.
Commodore Batra emphasized the importance of transparency, stating that taxpayers deserve to know how their money is spent. He noted that many embassies had previously provided similar information in response to his RTIs in 2015 but are now withholding details that should be publicly available under the RTI Act.
While the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi disclosed that Rs 4.95 crore was spent on Modi’s visit to the UAE in February 2024, other Indian embassies have not responded to Batra’s queries and have instead forwarded them to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi.
Batra’s RTI applications requested the total cost of each foreign trip, a breakdown of expenses, and information on any external sponsorships for the visits.
