The Gujarat state exchequer has incurred an expenditure of Rs19.76 crore on Chief Minister Narendra Modi's air travel, both domestic and overseas, between 2003 and 2008, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee alleged on Tuesday.
Speaking during a discussion in the legislative assembly on budgetary demands for the General Administration Department 2012-13, state Congress chief Arjun Modhvadiya said: "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."
According to Modhvadiya, Modi visited China thrice 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's Parimal Nathwani, among others, he said.
In 2003, Modi undertook five air travels, incurring expenditure of Rs1.25 crore, 2004 (16) costing Rs3.54 crore, 2005 (21) amounting to over Rs3.48 crore, 2006 (24) spending Rs4.99 crore, 2007 (over 34) for Rs3.23 crore and 2008 (over 42) costing Rs3.20 crore, he said.
Modhvadiya alleged that Modi had visited New York, Houston, San Fransisco and Los Angeles with two state ministers and a bureaucrat, without clearance of the Centre, incurring an expenditure of Rs10 lakh.