Copies made specially to give manuscript-type look

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government spent nearly Rs 3.8 lakh on buying just 10 copies of Bhagvad Gita during the International Gita Mahotsav organised last year. The copies were given as gifts to VVIPs.The state also paid Rs 15 lakh to BJP MP and Bollywood star Hema Malini and Rs 10 lakh to Delhi BJP president and actor Manoj Tiwari for their performances at the event. While Hema performed a musical dance drama, 'Radha Rass Biharti', Tiwari gave a cultural programme.The information has been provided to Rahul Sehrawat, a resident of Hisar, by the Kurukshetra Development Board under RTI. Sehrawat said that Rs 15 crore was sanctioned for celebrations during the event but the board gave him records of only Rs 4.32 crore.He is now planning file an appeal and get details of the remaining expenses. While opposition parties are calling the expenditure a waste of people's hard-earned money, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is not backing down.Haryana CM told TOI that the money spent on the copies of the Gita and all other expenses were incurred after much deliberation within the government and that they would continue to spend money in this manner in the future as well.“The money was spent on creating awareness in society and was needed in the larger interest of society,” Khattar said.According to the RTI reply, Rs 3,79,500, was spent on copies of the Gita, with each copy costing the government more than Rs Rs 37,000. Sources confirmed that the copies were prepared with special paper and were designed in such a manner that they looked like ancient manuscripts.The books were given to VVIPs who had visited the event. Prominent among those who had attended the functions from November 25 to December 3 were President Ram Nath Kovind, Union minister Uma Bharti, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Governors of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and others. The RTI reply shows that Rs 3,79,500 were paid to ‘Tanvi Stationers’ for the ten copies.Former Haryana chief minister Bupinder Singh Hooda said that the present government is an event management company, which has nothing to do with the development but is setting its own agenda by misusing public funds. “I hope the government has not used gold in preparing the copies,” he said.Dushyant Chautala, senior INLD leader and Hisar MP, said that the Khattar should explain what special in the copies to make them worth Rs 37,000 a piece when you can get a normal copy for as low as Rs 200. “The RTI information itself is sufficient to prove grave misuse of public money. Hope the CM would conduct a fair probe into such misappropriation of public money,” Chautala said.