Govt spent no money on Sonia's overseas visits, treatment: PMO

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office on Friday strongly denied that the government had paid the travel and medical bills of UPA chief Sonia Gandhi, describing the Rs.1,880-crore ($363 million) figure as "untrue and misleading". The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) clarification came in the backdrop of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi raising the issue of Gandhi's foreign travel since 2004 by quoting media reports that talked of expenses for those trips being borne by the government. The PMO, in tweets posted on micro-blogging site Twitter, said the government had not borne any expenses of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson's medical treatment abroad and in India. "PMO statement on UPA chairperson's travel expenses: The reports quoting an expense of Rs.1880 crore are untrue and misleading," the tweet by the official PMO handle @PMOIndia said. "PMO: The Central Information Commissioner has already denied these reports," it said. "The PMO would like to put on record that the government has incurred no expenses on UPA chairperson's visits abroad," the tweet said. "PMO: It is further clarified that the government has not borne any expenses for UPA chairperson's medical treatment abroad and in India," it added. Gandhi has been frequently travelling abroad in the last year or so to get treated for an undisclosed ailment, which remains a secret till date. The Congress has insisted that her health was a personal matter that would not be discussed in public domain. However, Modi, during the course of a state-wide tour he is undertaking ahead of the state assembly polls, sought the union government's response to media reports that Rs.1,880 crore was spent on her travels abroad.