Plan to hire PR agency to handle Ajit Pawar’s social media scrapped after flak
The Maharashtra Government's decision to hire a public relations (PR) agency for Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been mired in controversy as the opposition termed the move as a waste of money.
Facing flak, Mr Pawar finally cancelled the decision saying there was no need to appoint any external agency to handle the social media of his office.
The general administration department Wednesday issued an order for the appointment of an external agency for the office of Dy CM to announce his decisions, initiatives and policies on various social media platforms. The estimated cost of the work was `5.98 crore for the year 2021-22. However, the move evoked a sharp response from all quarters as several raised question mark over splurging nearly `6 crore on Mr Pawar’s PR activities when the state was facing a coronavirus crisis.
BJP spokesperson Atul Bhatkhalkar sought cancellation of this decision, saying expenditure should be avoided. “The state government cites fund crunch when it comes to paying to doctors and nurses, but has money to hire a PR agency. It is a highly shameless behaviour,” he added.
Reacting to him, NCP leader Nawab Malik slammed the BJP saying those who are pointing finger towards the expenditure should recall how much money was spent on the CM and other ministers in the previous government. The expenses are nothing much compared to the huge amount of money spent by the Centre and BJP-ruled state governments for their publicity, he added.
However, taking note of the outcry, Mr Pawar himself directed to cancel the government order with immediate effect. “There is no need to appoint an external agency for handling social media of the deputy CM’s office. There is no question of appointing a separate agency when the government's directorate-general of information and public relations can carry out that work,” he said.