Fadnavis doles out Rs 8 lakh for dance at Bangkok, clarifies

An RTI filed by an activist has revealed that the Maharashtra CM approved Rs 8 lakh from CM relief fund for a government employee dance troupe that participated in a competition in Bangkok.

“The disbursement of the fund is made at the discretion of the Chief Minister, and in accordance with the Chief Ministers directions”, said the official.

As many as 14,708 villages in Maharashtra are facing drought conditions where paisewari (‘value of crops’) is less than 50%, Agriculture Minister Eknath Khadse had said. “If money has been misappropriated for a cause for which the money has not been collected, it is a very serious issue”. The victims or survivors of disasters such as floods, drought, accidents due to fire or any other major natural calamities are provided immediate assistance from the CM Relief Fund. Assistance is also provided to economically backward sections amongst the communities in cases of medical treatment for various critical ailments, Galgali said. He sanctioned the sum that was transferred to Sachivalaya Gymkhana for the dance contest.

The grand event of performing arts will be held in “Aksra Theater” in Bangkok City from 26th to 30th December 2015. People are seeking relief for chronic diseases like cancer and heart attack. “Despite that he diverted this fund to Sachivalaya Gymkhana for foreign tour for their own enjoyment”. He should apologise for his shameful act. His transparency, accountability and credibility are talked about across the nation. “If not, Fadnavis should pay from his own pocket”, said NCP leader Nawab Malik. Calling it a blatant misuse of power, he said: “The most sad part is that the chief minister himself sanctioned the amount from the relief fund. I urge the chief minister to spend that amount for those who are dying across the state”.

The dance troupe is slated to participate in the competition being held at Akshara theatre and is being organized by private entities like Akhil Bhartiya Sanskrutik Sangh and the Global Council of Art and Culture.

Defending his move, the Maharashtra CM further said that there was no wrongdoing in disbursing the relief fund as it can be used in eight other zones. The controversy also follows one in 2008 when another Right to Information query had revealed that between the 2003 and 2005, the then Congress-NCP government had funded a kabaddi competition, a women’s football match, a ghazal contest, a Marathi actor’s fan club and a Congress legislator’s religious congregation with public money.