On February 24 and 25, 2020, Trump had visited India for the first time along with his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and officials. The entourage had visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi.
New Delhi: An RTI has revealed that around Rs 38 lakh was spent during former US President Donald Trump’s 36-hour visit in 2020 for his accommodation, meals, logistics etc. The information was provided by the External Affairs Ministry to the Central Information Commission.
On February 24 and 25, 2020, Trump had visited India for the first time along with his wife Melania, daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and officials. The entourage had visited Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi.
In Ahmedabad, Trump had spent hardly three hours when he attended a 22-km-long roadshow, visited Sabarmati Ashram and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and addressed a gathering called “Namaste Trump” along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the newly-built Motera Cricket Stadium.
On the same day, he flew to Agra and visited the Taj Mahal. The next day, he visited Delhi and held bilateral talks with Modi.
The RTI had sought to know from the External Affairs Ministry the total expense incurred by India during Trump’s visit. While initially there was no reply to the RTI, the applicant later filed a first appeal and later approached the Commission, the highest appellate authority in RTI matters.
The ministry submitted to the Commission that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the response.
The submission said, “Expenditure by host nations on incoming State Visits by Heads of State/Heads of Government is a well-established practice and in accordance with internationally accepted norms. In this context, the Government of India incurred certain expenses on accommodation, meals, logistics in connection with the State Visit to India by the US President Donald J Trump to India from 24-25 February. The expenditure is estimated at ₹ 38,00,000 approximately.”
