Indian government agency spends millions promoting BJP election slogans
In a controversial move, the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), an Indian government agency, has come under fire for spending millions on promoting slogans associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2024 elections. The agency, which is tasked with promoting government plans, instead launched a series of advertisements that closely mirrored the BJP’s campaign messages, raising concerns about misuse of public funds for political gain.
The CBC’s advertisements, which included catchphrases like “Modi ki guarantee” (Modi’s guarantee) and “Modi sarkar ki guarantee” (Modi government’s guarantee), were rolled out on platforms like Google and YouTube, reaching millions of viewers. Critics, including opposition parties like the Indian National Congress, have accused the agency of violating election rules by using taxpayer money to promote the governing party’s campaign.
According to an Al Jazeera investigation, the CBC spent nearly 387 million rupees ($4.65 million) on Google advertisements in just under four months leading up to the formal announcement of the national elections in March. This amount exceeded the spending of the BJP itself, making the agency the top pre-election spender on political ads.
Opposition parties have long alleged that the BJP, under Modi’s leadership, has been using government agencies to further its political agenda. The CBC’s extensive advertising campaign, which featured slogans and themes similar to those used by the BJP, has only added fuel to these accusations.
Transparency experts and former election officials have noted that the misuse of public funds for promotional campaigning is not a new phenomenon in Indian politics. However, the scale and reach of the CBC’s campaign have raised concerns about the fairness of the electoral process and the ability of non-partisan institutions to uphold democratic principles.
As the election season heats up, the controversy surrounding the CBC’s spending on BJP-related slogans is likely to intensify. Critics are calling for greater scrutiny of government advertising practices and stricter regulations to prevent the misuse of public resources for political gain.
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1. The Indian government agency, the Central Bureau of Communication, spent millions on Google ads promoting slogans similar to those of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the 2024 election campaign.
2. The advertisements, paid for by taxpayer money, featured slogans like “Modi ki guarantee” and “Modi sarkar ki guarantee”, which closely resembled the BJP’s campaign catchphrases.
3. The opposition parties, particularly the Indian National Congress, accused the government of misusing public funds for political campaigning, leading to a complaint being filed with the Election Commission of India.
4. Transparency activists and former election officials have pointed out that the misuse of public funds for self-promotional advertisements by the ruling party is not a new phenomenon in Indian politics.
5. The Modi government’s increase in the budget of the Central Bureau of Communication in 2023 allowed for more freedom to advertise, leading to a significant increase in spending on promotional campaigns during the election period.
6. The lack of strict regulation and enforcement of guidelines regarding government advertising with political connotations has allowed for the ruling party to continue exploiting government resources for campaigning purposes.