Sonia Gandhi writes to PM: Govt must reduce unnecessary expenditure

New Delhi: Congress President and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Government to cut down unnecessary expenditure by avoiding ostentatious displays during functions organised at memorials of leaders in Delhi.

In her letter to Singh, Sonia Gandhi also wanted the government to take measures to ensure that there was minimum inconvenience to the public on such occasions. “The import of the letter is that the expenditure on such programmes should be minimised. Sonia Gandhi wanted that instead of creating a pomp and show, it will be better if sincere people go there out of genuine feelings," said a Congress leader.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has begun to act on Sonia Gandhi's request and will start taking steps to reduce the number of functions held at these memorials. The letter was sent a few days after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary on August 20.

The government at present organises six functions to mark birth and death anniversaries at the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Some other functions are also organised by various trusts and the government facilitates these functions.

There has been some criticism in the past of the government spending huge money on advertisements by ministries and departments to mark some of these anniversaries.

This article is posted by pressbrief.in