RTI Activist Asks Modi To Pay Back Crores To Air India For His Foreign Flights

According to a Request to Information filed by activist Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra, the Prime Minister's Office owes crores in foreign air flight expenses to Air India, India's official flier.

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The RTI found that Air India spent Rs 117 crore in 2015-2016 on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign travels, to 22 countries, including Russia, France, Germany, Korea, Mongolia, China, the UAE, Ireland, the UK, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey among others till December 2015 last year.

Among PM Modi's most expensive trip last year was in April 2015 when he visited France, Canada and Germany which cost the exchequer Rs 31 crore. While his trip to China, Mongolia and Korea cost Rs 15 crore, Air India raised a similar bill for the PM's Central Asia visit. This included countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan.

Another report says that Modi and his ministerial team spent Rs. 567 crore on foreign trips in 2015-2016

"This is the tax payers' money that you are hoarding. There is no practical reason for the delay, and the matter concerns larger public interest," he said, Catch News reported.

The RTI addressed

1. Details of expenses incurred on air travel by Air India in respect of foreign visits of the incumbent Prime Minister and former Prime Ministers

2. Process/procedure/steps involved in chartering flights for PM's foreign visits

3. Filing 'flight returns' and raising bills/invoices and clearing bills on completion of the visit, copy of bills, etc.

Last year, the PMO had told Batra that the record pertaining to flights of the PM contain information which has security issues and hence it is exempted from disclosure under section 8(1)(g) of the RTI Act.

Also read: It's All Work And Little Sleep Aboard Modi's Air India One, No Alcohol Or Groupies Around!