Cong Mumbai chief says RTI figures show Rs 3.40 cr spent on tea in 2017-18; CMO clarifies that the figure was not just for tea
Sanjay Nirupam
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam has alleged a 577% increase in expenditure on tea and snacks at the chief minister's office. Furnishing RTI documents on Wednesday, he said, "The amount spent on tea has risen from Rs 57,99,150 (nearly Rs 58 lakh) in 2015-16 to Rs 3,34,64.904 (nearly Rs 3.4 crore) in 2017-18 — a dramatic increase of 577%. Which denotes that on an average 18,591 cups of tea is being served at the CM's office every day."
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He continued, "What kind of tea is Devendra Fadnavis drinking? The CM seems to be drinking some kind of expensive golden tea. I can't imagine at a time when farmers are dying in Maharashtra on a daily basis, there seems to be an unprecedented expense on teas," he said.
Pointing at the existing corruption in the BJP government, Nirupam said, "While the Prime Minister takes great pride in saying that he was a 'chaiwala', Devendra Fadnavis has taken this a bit too far as the 'chai' he is drinking clearly cannot be sold at regular tea stalls. Both the PM and the Maharashtra CM are taking the country for a ride in the name of chai."
The CMO didn't contest the expenditure, but said that the amount mentioned was not just spent on tea and snacks, but included all expenditure incurred on hosting VVIP guests and ministers, etc. "This includes tea, snacks and meals during guest visits and cabinet meetings, mementoes for guests, official meetings and delegation meetings," the CMO said.
The CMO said the total cost that the RTI response gave pertained to expenditure not just at the secretariat, but also at the Mantralaya, Sahyadri Guest House and the CM's official residences in Mumbai and Nagpur, and the secretariat at Nagpur.
"To say that the hike is 577% is completely wrong because the payments did not happen in just one year," the statement said. It said the number of guests and visitors to the CMO have increased manifold over the past three years and bills were submitted late. Earlier, the bills for departmental meetings were paid by the respective departments, but now the CMO pays for it.
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