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Andhra Minister's Surprising Revelation: RTI Documents Show He Paid for 77 Flights

RTI documents have revealed surprising information about Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh's travel expenses. The minister paid for all 77 of his flights to Hyderabad from his own pocket despite these being official trips. This discovery directly counters allegations from opposition YSRCP leaders who accused him of misusing public funds. The ruling TDP party has now used these RTI findings to hit back at what they call baseless political accusations.

Key Points: Minister Lokesh Paid for 77 Hyderabad Flights from Own Pocket

  • RTI activist Kodamala Suresh Babu filed queries revealing travel expense details
  • Four government departments confirmed no travel claims were made by minister
  • YSRCP had accused minister of weekly Hyderabad trips using public funds
  • TDP calls opposition allegations blatant lies based on RTI evidence
2 min read

Andhra Minister Lokesh paid for air travel from own pocket, reveal RTI documents

RTI documents reveal Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh used personal funds for 77 official flights to Hyderabad, countering opposition allegations of misusing public money.

"None of these are personal trips, yet Minister Nara Lokesh funded these tours from his own pocket - TDP statement"

Amaravati, Nov 27

Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh used his own money for financing his 77 flights to Hyderabad, said replies to applications filed by an activist under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

Replies from various departments which are under the Minister show that he has not claimed travelling expenses.

Nara Lokesh is the Minister for Human Resources Development, Information Technology, Electronics and Communications and Real Time Governance.

He is the son of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) said that the claims made by Opposition YSR Congress Party that Lokesh travelled to Hyderabad 77 times by a special aircraft proved 'blatant lies'.

"None of these are personal trips, yet Minister Nara Lokesh funded these tours from his own pocket," the TDP said in a post on X.

"It has been revealed through an application filed by an RTI activist that Minister Nara Lokesh has not taken even a single rupee from the Human Resources, IT, Electronics, and Real Time Governance departments, which he manages, for these tours," it added.

The TDP also posted replies from the departments concerned to RTI queries by Kodamala Suresh Babu of Guntur district.

Higher Education Department, Skill Development and Training Department, Information Technology, Electronics and Communications and Department of Real Time Governance sent replies to the applications filed by the activist under the RTI application.

As per the replies from all four departments, Minister Nara Lokesh for not claiming travelling expenses.

YSRCP leaders have been criticising Minister Nara Lokesh for his frequent air trips to Hyderabad.

They had accused the Minister of misusing public money for personal visits.

They claimed that Lokesh travelled to Hyderabad by flight 77 times since TDP-led coalition came to power 18 months ago.

According to the YSRCP leaders, the Minister was visiting Hyderabad every week.

With replies to RTI queries making it clear that Minister Lokesh paid for those flights from his own pocket, the TDP leaders have hit back at the YSRCP leaders.

The ruling TDP leaders accused the opposition YSRCP of making baseless allegations against the Minister.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
While I appreciate the transparency, I'm curious why he needed 77 trips to Hyderabad in 18 months. That's almost weekly travel - seems excessive for official work? 🤔
S
Suresh Babu
RTI proving its worth again! This is why we need strong transparency laws. Kudos to the activist who filed this application and exposed the truth.
M
Meera T
YSRCP should apologize for making false allegations. This kind of mudslinging politics wastes everyone's time. Focus on real issues please!
A
Arjun K
Whether he paid from his pocket or not, the carbon footprint of 77 flights in 18 months is concerning. Ministers should use video conferencing more often for inter-state meetings.
K
Kavya N
Good to see accountability in politics! This sets a positive precedent. Hope other ministers take note and be more responsible with public money 💯

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