New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign trips cost the exchequer over Rs. 37 crore in last one year. His trip to Australia Trip proved to be most expensive of all.
PM Modi visited 20 countries between June 2014 and June 2015 throughout which the expenses incurred were Rs. 37.22 crore according to the documents accessed through RTI filed by applicant Comm (retd) Lokesh Batra. Batra approached individual missions seeking expenses related information on the PM's trip.
The cheapest trip of PM was to Bhutan that cost Rs. 41.33 lakh. In Australia, most expensive trip of the year, the mission spent over Rs.5.60 crore on hotel stay for PM and his delegation and Rs. 2.40 crore on hiring cars.
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Modi has been frequently attacked for his foreign trips by the opposition which has called him an 'absentee PM'. The ruling BJP hit back saying that former UPA Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had undertook almost same number of trips abroad during his term.
BJP argues that Pm Modi's trips abroad bring foreign investment to the country and establishes India with a strong economy. A number of countries have shown interest in PM's flagship scheme of 'Make in India'.
