Thiruvananthapuram : State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has created a flutter by serving a notice on Kerala Raj Bhavan for recovering an amount of Rs 1, 029 spent by former president late A P J Abdul Kalam on telephone calls during his stay there.
The notice warning confiscation of movable and immovable properties in lieu of the outstanding dues has not mentioned the date of the telephone use by Kalam, who used to stay at the Ananthapuri Suite in Raj Bhavan whenever he visited the state capital during his presidency and after that.
Sources at Raj Bhavan said the due was in respect of a temporary connection availed for the former president during his visit after demitting his office. The source said the controversy could have been avoided if the BSNL authorities had informed them before issuing such a notice.
In the notice issued on November 18, BSNL had stated that if the amount was not remitted as early as possible, it would be recovered under revenue recovery proceedings. The notice had advised the Raj Bhavan to avoid the action by settling the bill at the revenue recovery fair being organized by them this month.
A senior BSNL official said the notice was issued “inadvertently”. He said that they had closed the case after receiving the dues from the Raj Bhavan.
