As India just hosted a successful grand G20 Summit in the national capital, there were claims by the opposition that the central government overspent during the two-day event, which was held from September 09 to 10. However, the Centre has refuted all the allegations, calling them ‘misleading.’
In a fact checker post, the Press Information Bureau dismissed the claims made in a tweet by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale, affirming that the quoted expenditure was ‘mainly for permanent asset creation.’
Taking it to X (formerly known as Twitter), the PBI Fact Check said, “A tweet claimed that the government spent 300 per cent more on the G20 than the funds allocated in the budget.”
It said, “This claim is misleading. The quoted expenditure is mainly for permanent asset creation by ITPO and other infrastructure development, which is not limited to hosting the G20 Summit alone.”
A tweet claims Govt spent 300% more on #G20 than funds allocated in budget#PIBFactCheck
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) September 11, 2023
1 This claim is misleading
2 The quoted expenditure is majorly towards permanent asset creation by ITPO & other infrastructure development which is not limited to hosting G20 Summit alone pic.twitter.com/CRGkraJw3J
Further, in the post, the PBI said, “Gokhale, the national spokesperson of Mamata Banerjee’s party, had asserted that the fund allocated for the G20 summit in the last Union Budget was Rs 990 crore, but the government spent up to ₹4100 crore.”
Responding to the PBI’s report, now TMC MP Saket Gokhale has called the report a ‘cover up’ by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
The G20 cover up by the Modi Govt has started.
— Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) September 12, 2023
The budget for G20 was 900 cr.
Union Minister @M_Lekhi shared a post with the breakdown of expenditure which shows 4100 cr was spent.
Now @Rajeev_GoI should clarify:
Was the Minister lying or are you now scared & covering up? pic.twitter.com/el7b5WkRKh
Earlier, in a tweet, the TMC leader slammed the central government for overspending on the G20 Summit. “That’s 300 per cent (or ₹3110 crore) over the budget,” he wrote on X, also questioning, “Where has this money gone?”
“‘Why shouldn’t the BJP be made to pay this extra ₹3110 crore, since it was clearly non-essential spending purely for Modi’s self-advertisement and personal PR for the 2024 elections?’ the TMC leader asked.
“However, according to the government, the amount was spent on permanent asset creation by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) at Pragati Maidan and other infrastructure development, which is not limited to hosting the G20 Summit alone.”
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