Govt has no information about Sonia Gandhi’s foreign tours?

No government department seems to have any information about the tours and travels undertaken by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi as an RTI application kept moving to different ministries without any substantial response.

The case relates to an RTI application filed by one Kailash Kanwar of Bhilwara in Rajasthan who sought to know about the foreign visits undertaken by the UPA and National Advisory Council Chairperson during the last two years.

He had also sought information about recent visit of Gandhi for her reported treatment in the United States of America through the application under the transparency law.

The application sent to External Affairs Ministry was transferred to Parliamentary Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation under the provisions of RTI Act.

While transferring, the Ministry said, “The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the concerned department for providing information on foreign visits undertaken by Smt Sonia Gandhi as Member of Parliament.

“Regarding foreign visits undertaken by Smt Sonia Gandhi as Chairperson of National Advisory Council, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is the concerned Ministry. Therefore Point 3 and 4 of the RTI application (related with the visits) is transferred to them under section 6(3)(ii) of the RTI Act for necessary action.”

Ministry of Statistics forwarded the application to National Advisory Council with remarks that it is “not involved in any matter related to tour or trips taken by the members of the NAC or by Smt Sonia Gandhi as UPA Chairperson at any point of time.”

The NAC said it has “no information on the said matter” and forwarded it to Prime Minister’s Office “since the PMO is the custodian of information relating to all the expenditure incurred in the functioning of the NAC.”

The Prime Minister’s Office in its reply dated October 20 said, “No information is held with the records held by the office.”

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to which MEA has transferred the application has said as per its records it has “zero information” about the foreign tours undertaken by Sonia Gandhi.

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