Prez's foreign trip with kin normal practice: MEA

The government on Wednesday sought to put an end to a controversy, generated by President Pratibha Patil taking her two grandchildren on a nine-day state visit to Seychelles and South Africa, saying it is a “normal diplomatic practice”.

“It’s a normal diplomatic practice that a visiting dignitary occasionally takes members of his/her family on visiting trips. Hospitality for such visiting dignitaries in such cases is usually provided by the host government. It is not abnormal,” official spokesperson in MEA Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.

Citing several examples of visiting heads of state travelling with the members of their families, he said it included the recent visit by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who was accompanied by his son, and former US President Bill Clinton, who travelled with his daughter Chelsea on a visit here.

“It is a normal and conventional diplomatic practice that visiting dignitaries takes those they are comfortable in terms of members of the family. Let’s us end this discussion because there are enough examples,” Akbaruddin said.

Earlier also, President Patil’s foreign trips had raised eyebrows when a query made under RTI, filed by PTI, revealed that a whopping Rs 205 crore had been spent on her travel expenses since she assumed office in July 2007, surpassing the record of all her predecessors. During her tenure, President Patil has undertaken 12 foreign trips.