MEA refuses to reveal expenses on Barack Obama tour

The ministry of external affairs has refused to provide any information on the expenses incurred by the government on the three-day tour of US president Barack Obama in January. The information was sought by Anil Galgali under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In his second visit to India, Obama was the first US president to be the chief guest on Republic Day. He and his wife had attended a series of programmes during the tour.

The tour had, among other things, a visit scheduled to Agra, which the US president had to cancel at the last minute due to the passing away of Saudi Arabia's ruler.

Galgali in his application had sought information on the total expenses incurred in hosting Obama, his wife and their entire entourage. He also wanted to know about the kind of security provided, the total number of security personnel engaged during his visit and where those security personnel were put up.

In the reply given by Rohit Rathish, deputy chief protocol and public information officer, said that the information cannot be given as it is sensitive and could affect the relations between the two countries.

He also stated that such information is exempted under section 8 (1) (a) of the RTI Act. The section talks of exemption of those information disclosure of which could affect relations with foreign countries.

A surprised Galgali said, "The government itself should have informed citizens about the various expenses incurred on Obama's tour."