The Gujarat government has spent Rs 8.81 crore of public money on advertisements celebrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 23 years in public office, an expenditure that appears to contravene the guidelines of the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA), which bars the use of taxpayer funds for glorifying individual politicians.
The expenditure came to light through Right to Information (RTI) queries filed by BBC Gujarati, which revealed that the government released a series of advertisements across print, electronic, digital and social media marking 23 years since Modi first assumed public office as Gujarat chief minister in 2001, The Wire reported.
While anniversaries such as 10, 15 or 25 years are often marked officially, the decision to commemorate the 23rd year through large-scale publicity was viewed as unusual and sparked criticism.
On 7 October 2024, full-page and half-page advertisements appeared in major Gujarati newspapers carrying messages of praise for Modi’s leadership, portraying him as the architect of development in both Gujarat and the country.
Campaigns under titles such as “Development Week – 23 years of successful and capable leadership” and “From 7 October 2001 – Gujarat has gained faith in development” ran prominently, alongside congratulatory messages hailing Modi as a visionary and the pride of Gujarat.
The RTI replies disclosed that around Rs 2.12 crore was spent on newspaper advertisements alone, while an additional Rs 3.04 crore was allocated for print publicity under the “Vikas Sapta” or Development Week initiative.
Another Rs 3.64 crore was spent by the publicity wing of the Information Commission on electronic, digital and social media promotions, bringing the total to nearly Rs 8.81 crore.
Political and legal experts have criticised the expenditure as wasteful and unjustified, arguing that such spending does not align with the principles of political neutrality mandated for government communication.
They pointed out that the Supreme Court, in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by Common Cause in 2015, had already directed governments to avoid using public resources for promoting individuals, leading to the establishment of the CCRGA to enforce content neutrality in official advertising.