Maharashtra Govt Allots 6 Crore For Ajit Pawar’s Social Media Agency; Cancels Order After Backlash

Maharashtra government had earlier allotted an amount of Rs 6 crore for handling the social media accounts of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as per a report in Times of India.

However, after facing immense backlash and attack from the opposition, the order was withdrawn, reports India Today.

Pawar holds the finance and planning portfolios in the Maharashtra government.

The general administration department (GAD) published an order signed by under-secretary R N Musale on the modalities for the appointment of an external agency for handling the social media accounts and the task of ensuring that decisions taken by Pawar reach the public.

Agency was to operate Pawar's various social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, Instagram along with the management of the sound cloud, WhatsApp bulletin, Telegram channel, and SMS.

The order stated that the agency will be selected after discussion with Pawar's secretariat and Directorate General of Information and Public Relations(DGIPR).

BJP MLA, Ram Kadam criticised the move and said, “People have died in the pandemic due to the negligence of the Maharashtra government. On one hand, the government is saying that they don’t have enough money to purchase vaccines and on the other hand, to pat their backs on social media a team is hired for the deputy chief minister at a budget of Rs 6 crore.”

He added, “If this budget is for one minister, what is the budget for all the ministers? During the pandemic, new vehicles were purchased and houses of ministers were renovated on government expense. Ministers should pay for social media from their own pockets.”