Selfie from ‘study tour’ to Spain goes viral, PCMC team comes under fire

  • | Thursday | 15th November, 2018

(From left) PCMC senior officials Rajan Patil and Neelkanth Poman, MNS leader Sachin Chikhale, BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, PCMC chief Shravan Hardikar, BJP House leader Eknath Pawar and Shiv Sena corporator Pramod Kute. The PCMC team is in Spain to attend a ‘Smart City expo’ in Barcelona. Opposition leader Datta Sane, who was also part of the contingent that visited Spain, is not in the picture. BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, BJP House leader Eknath Pawar, MNS House leader Sachin Chikhale, Shiv Sena corporator Pramod Kute and senior officials Rajan Patil and Neelkanth Poman can also be seen in the selfie. The PCMC chief had earlier said his expenses would be borne by the central government, while opposition leader Datta Sane said the rest of the expenses would be paid by the central government.

(From left) PCMC senior officials Rajan Patil and Neelkanth Poman, MNS leader Sachin Chikhale, BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, PCMC chief Shravan Hardikar, BJP House leader Eknath Pawar and Shiv Sena corporator Pramod Kute. (From left) PCMC senior officials Rajan Patil and Neelkanth Poman, MNS leader Sachin Chikhale, BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, PCMC chief Shravan Hardikar, BJP House leader Eknath Pawar and Shiv Sena corporator Pramod Kute. The controversy over a ‘study tour’ to Spain by a delegation of officials and corporators of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) intensified on Wednesday when a selfie taken by Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar went viral and became a matter of discussion in the industrial city. BJP MLA Laxman Jagtap, BJP House leader Eknath Pawar, MNS House leader Sachin Chikhale, Shiv Sena corporator Pramod Kute and senior officials Rajan Patil and Neelkanth Poman can also be seen in the selfie. Opposition leader Datta Sane, who was also part of the contingent that visited Spain, is not in the picture. Jagtap was not part of the PCMC team that visited Barcelona. The PCMC team is in Spain to attend a ‘Smart City expo’ in Barcelona. The picture, first posted by a news portal, went viral soon. “It was sent to us by one of the people in the photo…,” said Sandesh Pujari, who runs the portal, but refused to reveal the source. Hardikar confirmed that the picture was not a doctored one. He said the picture was taken late in the evening after the expo was over and “people from different parties were together…”. The PCMC chief said Jagtap had come to the conference on his own to get an insight into the Smart City expo and “he is paying for his trip himself.” While Jagtap could not be reached for comment, his close aide and BJP general secretary Sarang Kamtekar said, “Jagtap, as a leader of our party which rules PCMC, was present in his personal capacity to observe and experience the developments world over about Smart City projects”. Meanwhile, activists such as Bhapkar and Manav Kamble, who had objected to the tour and called it a waste of public money, criticised the selfie taken by the PCMC commissioner with political leaders. “There is some decorum that has to be maintained by a civic chief. He should not be seen to be extremely friendly with political leaders. Otherwise, it raises doubts about the impartial functioning of the civic administration,” said Bhapkar. He claimed that such “tours” were nothing “but a way for the participants to entertain themselves”. “People who do not know English are part of the tour. In Spain, you won’t find a Marathi translator. Instead of going to Spain, activists and experts could have learnt about Smart City projects through video-conferencing,” said Bhapkar. The PCMC chief had earlier said his expenses would be borne by the central government, while opposition leader Datta Sane said the rest of the expenses would be paid by the central government. Pimpri Mayor Rahul Jadhav, who was also supposed to be part of the tour, had dropped out as he “didn’t want to miss his weekly visit to Narayanpur temple”. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

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