Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday kept up his attack on Congress president Sonia Gandhi by asking the Prime Minister to first answer the issue he had raised a day before about the expenditure incurred on foreign travel of the UPA chairperson. He said that every citizen of the country has right to know about it.
On Monday, while addressing a rally in Saurashtra Modi had claimed that the Centre had spent Rs 1880 crore on foreign trips made by Sonia Gandhi. He had cited a report in a local vernacular paper that said the expenditure on Gandhi's trips had been revealed through a Right to Information (RTI) applicant based in Haryana.
However, after the RTI applicant denied of any such information, and clarified that he was yet to receive reply to his two year old query, the Gujarat chief minister yesterday evening claimed that he would accept his mistake in public if the report in the newspaper was incorrect.
"I raised a question yesterday and now that has created a storm! "Modi ko dikha denge" they (Congress) are saying! But first answer the issue!," Modi said on Tuesday during at Vivekananda Yuva Parishad in state capital Gandhinagar.
"Does the citizen of the country have no right to know where Delhi's money is being spent?," he asked. An RTI activist for Hissar had asked in 2010 how many times Gandhi went to USA, where did she stay and how much expenditure was incurred?
"They say that they (Congress) brought in revolution by introducing RTI Act, but then should they not give the information sought under RTI about Gandhi in three months as required under the Act. When information is concealed for two and half years something is wrong. Dal me kaala ya daal hi kaali hai (there is something fishy)," Modi said.
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"No one has asked on Gandhi's health. These questions were asked for three years when no one knew of her illness. Its on travel expenses. I read that Rs 1880 crore was spent on travel of Soniaji. If this has gone from government of India's treasury then details must come out. I am not asking anything to Soniaji. I am asking Prime Minister that from government treasury how much money was spent?," the chief minister questioned.
Modi further clarified that the news on the RTI application was published in July but he read it in October. "Why didn't the Congress bother to reply or take action then?" he asked.
The Chief Minister did not mince words to criticise the Union government over the addition of service tax to railway fares. "In what direction the Central government is moving. Two days back they added service tax to railway fares. Because of this coal coming to power plants in Gujarat would become dearer," he said.
Modi alleged that it was the nature of Congress to "loot from wherever it is possible". He also said that he was not afraid of anybody not event the CBI, which he claimed was put on job by the Congress to defame him.