Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been attending World Economic Forum (WEF) conferences every year in Davos, Switzerland, even during his stint as Chief Minister. Though every time he has been claiming of attracting lot of investors to the state, hardly any such follow-up was done.
But this time his six-day visit has attracted opposition parties’ ire. Disputing government’s claims that he was invited to the conference, they were dismissing it as a `publicity stunt’ and it was a `paid visit’.
If he was invited for the conference as a guest, they are questioning that why no other Chief Minister was invited and also asks why the state government has spent an amount of Rs 7,52,57,500 for its show in Davos, including setting up the ‘AP Lounge’ for marketing “Sunrise Andhra Pradesh” with the Chief Minister himself carrying the mantle.
Of the total sum, it was said that Rs 69.30 lakh was spent for the accommodation of the delegation, including the Chief Minister, the Finance Minister and senior officials. According to official figures, another Rs 44.27 lakh was spent on putting up the state’s billboard on a star hotel in Davos.
The delegation was sanctioned Rs 54.72 lakh as “advance” towards airfare, daily allowance, breakfast, lunch, dinner and purchase of shawls and mementos for visitors to the AP Lounge. A sum of Rs 6.39 crore was paid to CII for putting up the AP Lounge on the side-line of WEF conference, where the Chief Minister held meetings with top executives of various multinational companies, soliciting investments into the state.
YSR Congress Party spokesperson Ambati Rambabu accused that Chief Minister was never invited by the WEF as being claimed, but he paid a whopping $ 3.22 lakh, as delegate fee from the government coffers to attend the conference.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President and former speaker of united AP’s assembly Nadendla Manohar deplores that there is no transparency involved in the Chief Minister’s WEF visits. “He is simply taking people of the state for a grand ride in the name of attracting investments”, he added.
