Modi government spent Rs 35.58 crores on completing two years, reveals RTI

The Narendra Modi government spent Rs35.58 crores in advertising in print media after completion of two years of BJP in the centre, revealed an RTI query. The information was procured in the response to an RTI application that was filed with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The RTI was filed by Anil Galgali in which he had sought details of the money spent in advertising by the Modi government after completion of their two years in the centre. As per the procured information, the advertisements were given in 11,236 newspapers that included English, Hindi and all regional languages in the country.

The applicant had also sought information about the money spent by the Manmohan Singh government after completion of two years. However, the reply from Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) stated that no money was spent by the Manmohan Singh government after the completion of UPA's two years in the centre.

Galgali was disappointed that RTI response did not include the money spent on advertisements in electronic and social media."Ideally, such information should be available on the website of the government. Since the economy is fragile, the government should not indulge in wasteful expenditure," said Galgali.