Indian cricketer, Virat Kohli is in the middle of another controversy with Uttarakhand government as an RTI reply upon request of a BJP activist has revealed that the government has paid 47.19 lakh in June 2015 from funds that were granted to the flood victims of 2013.
However, Virat’s agent, Bunty Sajdeh has recently said: “There has been no monetary transaction whatsoever.”
The 28-year old was chosen to promote the tourism in the state of Uttarakhand in 2015 and has appeared in a 60-second video.
Reacting to the charges, media advisor of Uttarakhand CM, Surendra Kumar said: “Tourism forms the backbone of the state’s economy, therefore what is wrong if a prominent face is chosen to promote the state’s destinations? Everything has been done in a legal way. These allegations are baseless. People know that redevelopment of Kedarnath has always been the priority of our government. BJP is on the verge of losing elections, so it is coming up with such diversionary tactics out of frustration.”
Surendra Kumar has also further clarified that they will enquire the relative departments to check about the payments made to Indian skipper Virat Kohli earlier.
“I will ask the relevant departments to check details of the payment made to Kohli.
“It is BJP that is alleging that Virat Kohli was paid the money through an RTI that they have obtained. If the cricketer’s representative is claiming that they haven’t received the amount, we will get it checked.”
Ajendra Ajay, who had filed the RTI query in this regard, said Kohli was paid the amount by the government but questioned the way it was released.
“The RTI reply shows that the amount was paid by the district disaster management authority of Rudraprayag after a clearance given by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Management Authority through an email. Why were the state disaster bodies used to pay Kohli? Also, what is the requirement of a brand ambassador for the state? What role do they play in the long run? This is nothing but a sheer waste of money,” Ajay said.
The BJP activist has also reiterated his discontent over wasting public relief money for paying brand ambassadors as a similar issue happened last year when the government paid 3.66 crores to Kailash Kher for making a serial about Kedarnath.
“Around 12 suspension bridges had been washed away in the Kedar valley during the disaster. Just two of these bridges have been constructed, forcing locals to use trolleys to commute. Instead of focusing on these projects, the state government is indulging in wasteful expenditure.”