May 24, 2012
Jyeshtha Shukla 3, Kaliyug Varsha 5114

Now establishment of a Hindu Nation has become necessity which will have righteous and patriotic rulers, who will not at all waste tax-payers' money !

Lok Sabha Speaker Ms. Meira Kumar

New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar has travelled abroad as many as 29 times in 35 months since assuming office: a frequency that translates into a trip nearly every 37 days.

The former IFS officer visited these countries accompanied by MPs belonging to various parties as well as senior officials of the Lok Sabha Secretariat incurring a total expenditure of nearly Rs 10 crore, according to information secured by activist Subhash Agarwal under the RTI Act. (Now people should ask a question to such 'looter' politicians who are wasting tax-payers' money at their will. Now oust such selfish politicians and establish a Hindu Nation !)

Kumar, who was elected Speaker on June 3, 2009, has travelled abroad for 146 days until April 30 this year.

The country most visited by her is Switzerland, with the Lok Sabha Secretariat saying it was the work related with Inter-Parliamentary Union which took her to the popular holiday destination.

For IPU work, Kumar has undertaken seven visits to four countries -- Switzerland four times, while once each to the US, Panama and Thailand.

In addition, she visited Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Sri Lanka, Isle of Man, Swaziland, Kenya and Tanzania for what the Lok Sabha Secretariat described as work related to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

The disclosure coincides with pointers about the possibility of Kumar emerging as Congress's probable nominee for Rashtrapati Bhavan in case the frontrunners stumble. Trinamool boss and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed support for her.

This is not Kumar's maiden brush with controversy. She had hit the headlines recently following the RTI disclosure about the ministry of urban development waiving off the Rs 2 crore it had billed the Speaker for her stay at 6, Krishna Menon Marg, the sprawling bungalow that was earlier with her late father, Jagjivan Ram. (Now citizens should force such politicians to pay their such huge bills in time. Why we tax-payers should bare such unwanted expenditures ?)

Kumar also took parliamentary delegations to Italy, Austria, Mauritius, Bhutan, Hungary, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Mexico, Vietnam, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Iran, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.

In five visits to the US, Trinidad and Tobago, Sri Lanka, Isle of Man and Swaziland, she was only accompanied by Parliament officials while in the rest of the visits, she was also accompanied by MPs.

According to the reply, total expenses on these visits were Rs 9.89 crore. She also gave gifts worth Rs 11.66 lakh to her hosts.

The Speaker also extensively traveled in India, particularly to Varanasi, Hyderabad, Patna and Ranchi, running up a bill of Rs 10.53 lakh.

Source : Times of India