Austerity over: MP lives in 5-star for 6 mths
Click to play videoNew Delhi: Months after ministers like Shashi Tharoor and SM Krishna were turfed out of five-star hotels, CNN-IBN's sister Hindi channel IBN7 has found that a UPA minister has spent the last six months at Delhi's Ashoka Hotel and everything - including his meals - have been at taxpayers' expense.
Tinamool Congress MP, Sultan Ahmed, who is also Minister of State Tourism, has been staying at the luxurious Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi from June 1, 2009.
IBN 7 has detailed documents which show that Ahmed has been staying in room number 1434 for the last six months.
The rate of the suite is more than Rs 20,000 per night.
Ahmed, by staying in a five-star hotel, is flouting norms set by his own Government which wants to cut costs as part of an austerity drive.
IBN 7 has learnt that the total expenditure incurred on Ahmed's stay is over Rs 35 lakh - and this is just accommodation.
Worse, he has not paid a single paisa for all expenditure incurred on food, beverages, laundry and all other expenses.
In fact Ashoka hotel chose on its own to not charge Ahmed any money.
In his defence, Ahmed says, "I have been allotted my official house 15 days ago. It doesn't have all the facilities of a government accommodation."
After the story was broadcast on CNN-IBN, Trinamool Congress has hauled up the minister and an embarrassed Mamata Banerjee has asked the minister to pay the government Rs 37 lakh.
"It has come to our to our knowledge after CNN-IBN broadcast the story that our party member - Minister of State Sultan Ahmed - has run up a bill of Rs 37 lakh at Ashoka Hotel. We are thankful that the channel has brought it to our knowledge. Sultan Ahmed is a new member and was asked by the Tourism Ministry officials to move to Ashoka Hotel. He was obviously misguided. He has now been asked to pay for all the expenses from his own pocket," said Trinamool Congress leader, Sudeep Bandopadhyay.
No comments:
Post a Comment