Congress demands Modi’s apology over remarks on Sonia’s foreign tours

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Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat on Tuesday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to Congress President Sonia Gandhi for wrongly alleging that Rs. 1880 crores had been spent on her foreign tours.

Rawat accused Modi of lying and said he needed to come up with valid proof to support his stand on the issue.

"What can I say if people unnecessarily put allegations? They have said that we have spent more than 1,880 crores rupees, on foreign tours, what proof do they have?" asked Rawat.

"The person who had filed an RTI has himself said that he does not have any information and from where they have got these figures. Narendra Modi should apologise to the nation and he is a liar. He lies on all the issues," he added.

Rawat further said the Centre has always lent a helping hand to the Gujarat Government.

"He (Modi) is showing as if the Central Government is doing injustice to Gujarat Government. But the figures do not lie and clearly show that the Central Government has provided support to the Gujarat Government as it has provided to rest of the states," he added.

Modi had earlier on Monday said that 1880 crores rupees had allegedly been spent on Sonia Gandhi's foreign trips.

"For Sonia Gandhi, 1,880 crores rupees which belongs to the poor of the country have been spent. I have this newspaper dated 12 July 2012. Here it is written that a resident of Hisar in Haryana had filed an RTI. The Indian Government itself gave this information to him," Modi told a rally in Gujarat's Junagadh District.

However, the man who filed the application, Ramesh Verma , denied Modi's claims and said that the figures being attributed to his petition are incorrect.

"The figures which Narendra Modi is quoting of 1880 crores are wrong. I have not got any such RTI from the government. I have no such information. He will tell you better as to from where he has got those figures," Verma told mediapersons in Hisar.