Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday raised questions over the funding of the committee formed to oversee various programmes during US President Donald Trump’s Ahmedabad visit on February 24. She wondered what the Government is “hiding under the guise” of the committee.
“Rs100 crore is being spent on the visit of President Trump. But this money is being spent through a committee. The members of the committee do not know that they are its members. Does the country not have the right to know which Ministry gave how much money to the committee? What is the Government hiding under the guise of the committee?” the Congress general secretary tweeted.
The Congress also took a swipe at the ‘Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti’ with a parody advertisement on its official Twitter handle. The poster read ‘hiring now’ for job of “waving at US President Donald Trump”. It also said that the vacancies were 69 lakh and remuneration would be “achche din”.
The committee headed by Ahmedabad mayor Bijal Patel held its first meeting at the Circuit House in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
The formation of the committee, first announced as Donald Trump Nagarik Abhivadan Samiti by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, had drawn flak from the Congress.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain who all are in this Samiti.
“Why is Gujarat Government spending Rs120 Crore for a 3 hour event organised by an unknown Pvt entity? India values its visiting dignitaries but pl note- Diplomacy is serious Government business & not a series of photo-ops & event management tactics,” Surjewala asked.
The Congress had said the Trump visit should not become an extension of the US presidential election campaign but yield concrete results for India.