New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, a huge amount of departmental funds was reportedly diverted for an extended family holiday of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
According to reports, ₹62,96,652 was diverted from Brahmaputra Board and National Highways Infrastructure and Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) to "charter aircraft" for an extended family holiday of senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari.
In an RTI reply, the Brahmaputra Board has said that it paid ₹31,48,326 to charter an aircraft for four days from December 29,
The aircraft flew back the VVIP guests again to New Delhi on January 1, 2018. While the total costs to charter the aircraft was ₹62,96,652, both Brahmaputra Board and NHIDCL shared the contributions 50:50.
From Jorhat on December 29, Gadkari flew to Majuli, a riverine island, to lay foundations for the Brahmaputra Board complex. He also flagged off regular cargo services from Pandu to Dhubri.
Gadkari then flew to Kaziranga National Park with his family in a chartered helicopter and stayed there for two days. After attending a few meetings there, Gadkari and his family celebrated the new year in a luxury resort in Kaziranga National Park. Gadkari and his family flew to New Delhi at 8 am on January 1, 2018.
Ironically, there has reportedly been no progress with the projects, foundations of which were laid by Gadkari in Majuli.
Reacting to the above, senior CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu said, "It is very sad that public money is being used for arranging holiday package of the Union Minister. Significantly, the Brahmaputra Board is a critical agency to mitigate flood problem in Assam and its money is being used for arranging a holiday package."
Strongly criticising the BJP, Basu said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi used to hit out at the Opposition parties, and also use different agencies against the Opposition, but such things are taking place in his own party," Basu added.
