Karnataka Govt To Foot PM Modi’s Rs 80 Lakh Radisson Mysuru Hotel Bill; Here’s Why

Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the state government will foot the Rs 80 lakh bill of PM Modi's stay at the Radisson Blu Plaza during his Mysuru visit in April last year.

Karnataka News: The Congress government in Karnataka will pay the Rs 80 lakh hotel bill which was incurred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stay at the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel during his visit to Mysuru in April last year to commemorate 50 years of Project Tiger.

Recently, a row erupted after news broke that the hotel where PM Modi had stayed had threatened legal action to recover its dues, over a year after the bill, which runs up to Rs 80 lakh, remained unpaid.

In a statement on Monday, Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said the state government will foot the bill of Modi’s stay and said efforts are being made to resolve the matter in an amicable manner.

“The state government’s forest department had written to them (authority). They informed that the hotel bill (Rs 80 lakh) should be reimbursed by the state government and we have decided to reimburse. So, there is no issue,” he added.

As per the statement, Khandre said it a state government tradition to host dignitaries like the Prime Minister and the President when they come. But due to Assembly elections in Karnataka in April last year, the state government was not involved in planning of the programme (Project Tiger) since Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force.

Talking to reporters, the Karnataka Minister said that PM Modi had visited Myrusu-Bandipur on the eve of commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger, but the state government was not involved in the planning of the event as MCC was in force. Hence, it was purely a Central government programme.

“Initially, they had planned to spend around Rs 3 crore but the expenditure incurred was around 6.33 crore. So, balance 3.3 crore has to come from the National Tiger Conservation Authority,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)