Prime Minister’s office checks Bathiudeen’s vehicles

The attention of the Prime Minister’s Office was drawn last week to a news item that Minister Rishad Bathiudeen was using more vehicles than the number he was entitled to.

The information was based on a Right to Information application filed to the Ministry by our sister newspaper, Lankadeepa. The newspaper reported that Minister Bathiudeen was using seven official vehicles.The Minister was contacted by the Prime Minister’s Office once the newspaper hit the stands and a clarification was sought about the excessive usage of the vehicles.

The Minister claimed he was using the correct number of vehicles and it was a mistake made by the Information Officer who responded to the RTI application.
The advice from the PM’s Office was that, if the Minister was correct action should be initiated against the officer who provided inaccurate information. However, the Minister was also advised to provide information about the vehicles he was using.

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