Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony cost the government Rs 17.06 lakh, an RTI reply received from the Central Public Works Department has revealed.
In a reply to an RTI application filed by activist, Subhash Aggarwal, asking for the total expenditure of the ceremony, the department stated that Rs 17.60 lakh was spent on arrangements related to tents, stage, furniture and other related items for the oath-taking ceremony held on May 26, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The expenditure was incurred for all the 4,017 invitees that included the SAARC committee leaders, business tycoons from across the country, actors and religious heads.
However, as per the official reply by the CPIO, other specific details couldn’t be revealed because the expenditure on functions incurred by the spending units came from the annual Budget allocated to respective head of accounts.
“I filed the RTI asking for some specific details. However, only one of the 11 queries were answered. I feel that the expenses when compared to the swearing in ceremonies of CMs including Akhilesh Yadav is relatively less. Politicians should stop splurging on such occasions,” Mr Aggarwal said.
