Fact Check: Is there any truth in Saket Gokhale’s claim that Modi's visit to Morbi cost Rs 30 crore?

TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale took to Twitter and claimed that PM Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi to meet the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse cost a whopping Rs 30 crore. However, the claim made by Gokhale is false.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Saket Gokhale's tweet has ignited new debate in the political sphere. Prior to the Gujarat Assembly elections in 2022, Saket Gokhale claimed in a tweet on December 1 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi in Gujarat cost a staggering Rs 30 crore.

Saket Gokhale quoted multiple media sources in his tweet, claiming that "welcome, event management, and photography" accounted for Rs 5 crore of the Rs 30 crore spent on PM Narendra Modi's visit to Morbi.

However, the claim made by the TMC spokesperson is false. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) said on Twitter that Saket Gokhale of the TMC's assertions in his tweet was "false" because no answer to such an RTI request was provided.

The BJP immediately attacked Saket Gokhale over the tweet. "Another attempt to distribute false information. You would fail terribly at it (sic)," BJP Uttar Pradesh state co-convenor for social media Harsh Chaturvedi stated.

On Tuesday, a Gujarat Police team detained Saket Gokhale for disseminating "false news." It should be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Morbi and spoke with the victims of the Morbi Bridge collapse before the Gujarat Assembly elections.

However, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee defender her party spokesperson and condemned the BJP government's "vindictive attitude".  

Claimed that Gokhale made no mistake, Banerjee said, 'It's a very bad, and sad (incident). Saket (Gokhale) is a bright man. He is very popular on social media. He has made no mistake.' 

'I condemn this vindictive attitude. He (Saket) has been arrested because he tweeted against the Prime Minister. People also tweet against me... We are really feeling sorry about the situation,' Banerjee told reporters at Jaipur airport before heading for Pushkar.