New Delhi:
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has, without naming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, rubbished his allegation that the government spent Rs 1,880 crore of public money on UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips as "untrue and misleading", also stating emphatically that the Manmohan Singh government has not paid for Mrs Gandhi's medical treatment abroad or in India.
The PMO issued a statement today that said, "The Prime Minister's Office would like to put on record that the Government has incurred no expenses on UPA Chairperson's visits abroad. Expenses for her security contingent are borne by the Special Protection Group. During the last 8 years only one trip to Belgium undertaken at the invitation of the Belgian Government to receive a national honour was paid for by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. The total cost was less than Rs. 3 lakhs. It is further clarified that the Government has not borne any expenses for UPA Chairperson's medical treatment abroad and in India."
On Monday, Mr Modi had created a political storm by alleging that the Central government had spent crores on Mrs Gandhi's foreign trips. Mr Modi said he had based his claim on a report in a local newspaper that said that an activist had unearthed details on Mrs Gandhi's travels through a Right to Information or RTI application.
Mr Modi was later forced to apologise and tweak his allegation, when the RTI activist said he had indeed sought details on Mrs Gandhi's foreign travels but was yet to get the information. The Gujarat Minister then attacked the government asking why it had not revealed the details sought by the activist.
The PMO said in its statement today, "Media reports quoting certain quarters about massive expenses from the exchequer on UPA Chairperson's overseas visits have been brought to the notice of the Prime Minister's Office. The reports quoting an expense of Rs 1,880 crore are untrue and misleading."
The PMO today also pointed out that "the Central Information Commissioner has already denied these reports."
Though Mr Modi did not specifically mention Mrs Gandhi's medical treatment abroad, both the BJP and the Congress made mention of it in an exchange of words after Mr Modi made his allegations. The Chief Minister chose to do so at a public rally only a day before Mrs Gandhi visited Gujarat to launch her party, the Congress' election campaign. Mrs Gandhi, in her public address in Rajkot avoided any mention of the charges made by Mr Modi.
Assembly elections will be held in Gujarat on December 13 and 17.