Maharashtra Govt Under Fire For Hosting 'Lavish' Event With 'Silver Plates, Rs 5000 Per Person'
Congress leaders and activists decry the "lavish" meals served on rented silver plates, costing thousands per guest, while the state grapples with financial difficulties.
The Mahyuti government in Maharashtra has come under fire for hosting a "lavish" Parliament event in Mumbai. Congress and social activists blame the government for extravagant spending per guest while the state faces financial strain.
Around 600 guests attended the platinum jubilee meeting of Parliament's Estimates Committee in Mumbai. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the two-day event at Mumbai's Vidhan Bhawan Complex.
The Maharashtra unit of Congress has alleged that the guests were served meals worth Rs 5,000 each on silver dinner plates rented for Rs 550 each, reported India Today.
Congress Slams Fadnavis Govt
Maharashtra Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar questioned the "extravagant spending" by the Devendra Fadnavis government.
"When the state is virtually on the brink of bankruptcy, what was the need to serve meals on silver plates to members of the Estimates Committees in Mumbai?" he said while speaking to reporters in Nagpur.
Wadettiwar also alleged that Rs 5,000 was spent on each guest's meal while farmers in the state have been denied loan waivers and alleging budget cuts for several welfare schemes.
The Estimates Committee of the Parliament is tasked with evaluating the expenditure estimates for each administrative department in their respective budgets and spending funds.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal also slammed the Fadnavis-led government.
"They (Estimates Committee delegation members) feasted on a Rs 5,000 meal served on Rs 550 worth of silver plate each. Was the fund spent linked to the money found in the Dhule government guest house when the state estimates committee was touring?" questioned the Congress leader.
'Royal Mockery'
Social activist Vijay Kumbhar also criticised the Maharashtra government and called the event a spectacle of excess.
"Extravagant splurge of public money! Mumbai's Vidhan Bhavan hosted a lavish feast for Budget Committee members from across India, costing Rs 4,500 per person. Served on silver plates (Rs 550 each), the meal for 600 guests totalled Rs 27 lakh! The same committee preaching austerity indulged in this wasteful display, sparking public outrage," he said in a post on X.
"With 40-foot banners, stays at Taj Palace and Trident, AC dining tents, chandeliers, and red carpets, this was a royal mockery of taxpayers' money!" he added.
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