Shimla: After facing heat from the BJP over a ₹2.34 crore advertisement deal with National Herald, the Himachal Pradesh Congress has struck back, releasing data that shows similar practices during the BJP’s own rule. In a pointed rebuttal, the Congress party questioned the BJP’s selective outrage, saying that public money had also been used to support ideologically aligned media houses when they were in power.
Naresh Chauhan, Principal Media Advisor to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, released detailed figures showing that during the BJP government’s tenure, advertisements worth nearly ₹2.93 crore were issued to various publications associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The data includes ₹1.62 crore given to RSS mouthpieces Organiser and Panchjanya, ₹20.20 lakh to Bharat Prakashan (the publisher of these magazines), and ₹20.17 lakh to Matrivandana, another RSS-linked publication. Other allocations include ₹17.64 lakh to an ABVP magazine in Shimla, ₹12.74 lakh to the Vidyarthi Parishad Nidhi Trust, ₹7.74 lakh to Chhatra Udgosh, ₹4.60 lakh to Deepkamal Sandesh, and ₹31.93 lakh to Tarun Bharat, Nagpur. An additional ₹15 lakh was given to an unnamed education society.
Chauhan stated that BJP’s own record of public advertisement spending clearly reflects a pattern of favoring ideologically close media houses. “If you funded Panchjanya, why the outrage over National Herald? This is nothing but political hypocrisy,” he said.
Congress has maintained that the advertisements placed in National Herald were part of a legitimate effort to inform the public about government schemes and achievements. They argue that previous governments have followed the same practice, and the current administration is no exception.
The political battle has now turned into a numbers game, with both sides trying to out-expose each other. What began as a targeted attack on the Congress’s ad spending has turned into a wider debate on the ethical use of public funds for political publicity.
As national media houses and prime-time anchors continue to debate the issue, the Congress’s counter has added fuel to the fire—reminding voters that when it comes to the politics of propaganda, no party can claim a clean slate.
S Gopal Puri
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