PM Modi Made 52 Foreign Trips, Cost Rs 355 Crore, Reveals RTI

PMO gave information on an RTI query.

Bengaluru, June 29: It took Rs 355 crore to fund Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 41 trips to over 50 countries in his little over than four-year term, says a report. Overall, Modi was on foreign soil for 165 days, revealed replies to a Right to Information (RTI) queries sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The PMO's responses have been shared by the RTI activist, Bhimappa Gadad, with The New Indian Express. (Also read: Modi, Xi Sign MOUs)

Of Modi's trips to 52 countries, the most fund was spent on his nine-day tri-nation visit to France, Germany and Canada between April 9 and 15, 2015. The amount spent on that trip cost Rs 31,25,78,000; the cheapest was his first one as Prime Minister, to Bhutan on June 15-16, 2014, at Rs 2,45,27,465. Gadad said he filed the RTI petition out of sheer curiosity. A few years ago, I had applied for details of foreign visits by chief ministers of Karnataka. Recently, I was going through news reports wherein Prime Minister's foreign visits were heavily criticized. Then I applied under RTI seeking details of PM's foreign visits and I was really shocked to know the details," he said. (Also read: Shangri-La Dialogue)

Gadad is also bitter about the PMO not providing information on Modi's domestic travels. They have not furnished details of domestic visits and expenses for security provided during the visits. I did not ask for details of security measures. I just asked for the expenses, but they refused, saying the SPG security organisation, which takes care of PM security, is exempted from the purview of the RTI," he said. Though I got the information out of curiosity, I want it to reach the public. Everyone should know about it," he said. He added that the Centre should release reports what the country gained out of these trips.