The
Hans India: New Delhi: Wednesday, 19 August 2015.
An
eight-member delegation led by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh
Chouhan spent close to Rs.3 crore ($465,000/$58,000 per head) on a five-day US
trip in February, which included giving expensive gifts to investors, the reply
to an RTI querry has revealed.
The reply,
received from the Madhya Pradesh Trade and Investment Facilitation Corporation
Limited by whistle blower Ajay Dubey in July, revealed that on its visit to the
US to meet American business leaders and potential investors, the delegation
spent Rs.198,421 on gifts.
It also
mentioned that 10 woollen shawls worth Rs.119,990 (Rs.11,999 each) were gifted
to the guests, apart from ties and silver idols worth Rs.78,431. The visit was
from January 31 to February 4 on the invitation of the US-India Business
Council to meet business community leaders and investors.
The RTI reply
also revealed that the expenditure for hotel rooms and air travel was Rs.30
lakh ($46,000) each ($5,750 per head), while Rs.25 lakh was spent on taxi
rides, Rs.6 lakh went for daily perks and Rs.1.30 crore in rental for the
'Friends of MP Conclave' venue. Another Rs.75 lakh was spent on other
promotional and miscellaneous charges. The total expenditure was Rs.2.96 crore
over five days.
Among the
others who accompanied the chief minister were Yashodhara Raje Scindia, the
minister for commerce, industry and employment, Mohammed Suleman, principal
secretary, department of commerce, industry & employment; S.K. Mishra,
principal secretary to the chief minister; Vivek Aggarwal, secretary to the
chief minister; Anupam Rajan, MD, of the MP Laghu Udyog Nigam Ltd. (MP Small
Scale Industries Corporation); Manish Singh, MD, Madhya Pradesh Audyogik Kendra
Vikas Nigam (Indore) Limited; and Devhuti Bakshi of Ernst & Young.
"The
chief minister was planning another foreign tour to Sweden recently, but this
was cancelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To spend almost Rs.3 crore on a
five-day tour to the US is huge. It is a lot of money for a state like Madhya
Pradesh. Moreover, making a foreign tour to meet potential investors when
Vyapam scam was at its peak is not acceptable," Dubey told IANS.
Madhya
Pradesh has been mired in the Vyapam scam for years but the irregularities
eventually came to light when 20 people were arrested in 2013 for impersonating
candidates appearing for the 2009 medical entrance examination.
Forty-five
people associated with the Vyapam scam have died - mostly unnaturally or under
mysterious circumstances.
The CBI has
already registered 67 FIRs and launched 12 preliminary inquiries into the
Vyapam scam.
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