A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brief official visit to Saudi Arabia in April this year cost the Indian government over ₹15.54 crore. The disclosure came from the Consulate General of India in Jeddah, following an RTI application filed by Maharashtra-based activist Ajay Basudev Bose. According to the reply, more than ₹10 crore of the total expenditure was spent solely on hotel bookings. Critics have raised serious concerns about the excessive spending, questioning why such a huge sum of taxpayer money was used when, by diplomatic convention, the host country is expected to bear the cost of accommodations for visiting heads of state.
The Prime Minister’s trip, scheduled between April 22 and 23, was significantly shortened following the Pahalgam terrorist attack that unfolded at the time. Modi returned to India within 12 hours, skipping the official state dinner, which further amplified criticism about the staggering costs. Bose, while sharing the RTI reply on social media, remarked that the figures were “shocking” and suggested a lack of transparency and accountability in the government’s handling of official state visits. Political observers argue that the unusually high expenditure not only raises questions about financial management but also sets a worrying precedent regarding the use of public funds.
Records of Modi’s other foreign trips, as highlighted in the RTI, indicate that his four-day France visit earlier this year cost ₹25.59 crore, a one-day U.S. trip was ₹16.54 crore, and a one-day visit to Thailand cost ₹4.92 crore. While these figures already draw attention, Modi’s less-than-12-hour Saudi Arabia visit has been labeled the most expensive of all. In contrast, trips by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were comparatively less costly, with his 2011 U.S. visit amounting to ₹10.74 crore and his 2013 Russia trip costing ₹9.95 crore. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office have so far remained silent on the issue, even as questions about accountability and justification for such massive expenditures continue to grow.
