New Delhi: Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday hit out at Lt Governor V K Saxena, alleging that he was planning to "waste" taxpayers' money to boost his image through social media and called it a "conspiracy" to influence voters before assembly elections in the national capital.
There was no immediate reaction from the LG office.
Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj referred to a tender posted on the website of the Lieutenant Governor's office and said about Rs 1.5 crore will be spent annually for the promotion of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) on social media.
He said social media companies have been invited to send their proposals to the LG office. Bharadwaj claimed it would be the responsibility of that agency to efficiently run all the social media platforms of the Lieutenant Governor.
"In total, with an army of 10 people, LG Sahab is spending Rs 1.5 crore of Delhiites’ money to polish his face. This is a matter of great shame, and is a conspiracy to influence the elections in Delhi,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.
The agency will be responsible for completely managing the existing social media handles and channels of the LG. The company will run the handles of their Secretariat and Raj Niwas, the minister said.
He said that this means they will use both paid and non-paid mediums to increase their reach, "meaning they want to become famous quickly before the elections".
"LG sir has such a desire to become famous. Instead, he wants to become famous by paying from Delhi taxpayers’ money. It is a matter of shame,” he added.
"The LG’s office, the Governor’s office, and the President’s office are all ‘ornamental offices’. But what is happening now is outright unconstitutional," he said.
The social media army will include a communication media strategist team leader, a social media Manager, a community manager, one copy and Content writer (Hindi), one copywriter and content Writer (English), a Video editing team and so on, he claimed.
He said the LG Secretariat is given money to run the Secretariat, not to increase the LG's popularity.
“Delhiites have chosen those 70 MLAs to decide how their money will be spent. Has LG Sahab asked the people of Delhi? Has he asked the Assembly about spending this money? We strongly condemn this wasteful expenditure of Delhi taxpayers’ money and also ask the BJP if this is right," he said.
Bharadwaj said it can be acceptable if politicians run a narrative using social media, as they are in the political area. However, he questioned the LG's office for doing so.
"The framers of our Constitution believed that there could only be one power centre; there cannot be two power centres of a Chief Minister and a Governor,” he said.