The central government on Monday refuted the allegations of overspending for the G20 Summit, stating that such claims are ‘misleading.’ The Press Information Bureau, in a Fact Check post, dismissed the claims made in a tweet by Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, affirming that the quoted expenditure was ‘mainly for permanent asset creation.’
“A tweet claimed that the government spent 300 percent more on the G20 than the funds allocated in the budget. The PIB Fact Check tweeted, ‘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.’
“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 Rs 4100 crore.
“‘That’s 300 percent (or Rs 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 Rs 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.
The G20 Summit, under India’s presidency, was held in New Delhi at Bharat Mandapam of International Exhibition-Convention Centre (IECC) in Pragati Maidan on September 9-10.