A Right to Information (RTI) response has revealed that the Karnataka government spent Rs 37 lakh to organise an event launching a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2022. The event launching the book ‘Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery,’ which describes Prime Minister’s political journey, took place on June 27 at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru, and saw many political leaders in attendance.

The RTI reply recieved by RTI activist Bheemanagouda Paragonda shows that for the three-hour programme, Rs 12,38,674 was spent only on Digital Media Management. Additionally, Rs 1,10,000 was spent on providing a lease line internet speed of 100mbps for the book launch.

The reply further states that Rs 95,000 was spent on live streaming the event on social media platforms. A total of Rs 24,67,958 was spent on providing event arrangements for the three-hour book launch. The RTI response also encloses receipts of funds received from Miscellaneous Debtors Collection for a sum of Rs 35,69,675.

‘Modi@20, Dreams Meet Delivery’, is a collection of articles about Prime Minister Narendra Modi written by intellectuals, experts, and achievers who analyzed his 25-year political career. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot were present at the book launch on June 27.

A similar book launch was seen across the country with Home Minister Amit Shah releasing the book in Odisha, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launching the book in Chennai and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Hyderabad.