Imbibing ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ in complete spirit, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has spent over Rs 68 lakh on snacks and refreshment for his guests in 10 months.
On January 22, 10 months after Rawat took office, Nainital-based RTI activists asked in an RTI query, “From the time the chief minister took office till the time of writing this letter, how much many has been spent by the CM's office on tea and snacks?"
To this, the government replied, “The chief minister, who took the oath of office on March 18 last year, has spent a total of Rs. 68,59,865 on snacks and refreshment for guests.”
In 2016, Uttarakhand’s neighbouring state, Uttar Pradesh was in news for similar reason. The UP government had spent nearly Rs 9 crore on tea and snacks for its ministers in four years since the Samajwadi Party (SP) had come to power.