New Delhi: The Congress has accused the Narendra Modi government of “undermining the sanctity” of the Budget by “usurping” 40% of funds allocated to various ministries for publicity and handing it to the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC).Sharing an order by the finance ministry dated May 19, 2023, the party’s general secretary and media and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government has become a “Central(ised) Propaganda Machine.”A copy of the order posted on Twitter by the Congress and shared with The Wire, states: “For effective dissemination of information about government policies and programmes, in the most cost-effective manner, it has been decided to place 40%of the budget allocation 2023-24 of Ministries/Departments/Organisations (as per list attached) under the object head Advertising and Publicity at the disposal of the Central Bureau of Communications (CBC), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, with immediate effect.”Under paragraph 2, the order states that “Financial Advisers of Ministries/Departments concerned are requested to issue LoA (Letter of Authorisation) in favour of M/o I&B authorising it to operate relevant budget heads in their demand to settle bills raised on account of their advertisement and publicity campaign, to the extent of amount mentioned in LoA (details attached). It may be noted that the amount allocated through LoA will not be available for expenditure/re-appropriation by the functional Ministry/Department in the current FY 2023-24.”“The CBC’s Budget for 2023-24 approved by Parliament is Rs 200 crore. With the May 19th, 2023 order of the Ministry of Finance the Budget for CBC for the current year will suddenly zoom to more than Rs 750 crores,” Ramesh said.Parliament votes Budgets for all Departments and Ministries of the Government of India. Each programme/scheme has a distinct Budget Head.Now on May 19, 2023 in an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Finance has ordered that 40% of the funds voted by Parliament for ‘Advertising… pic.twitter.com/YusTFtx52R— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 13, 2023The Congress has alleged that the money will be used by the CBC for the BJP’s 2024 general election campaign.He claimed that the CBC, along with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) “will be the spearhead” of the Modi government’s 2024 election campaign.Asking if this is not a “de facto misappropriation” of funds, Ramesh hit out at the prime minister by calling him the Prachar Mantri (broadcasting minister). “This propaganda machine didn’t have enough funds. Now with this surgical strike, just like the 40% Commission Sarkara dislodged in Karnataka, the Modi Govt. usurps 40% of funds already allocated to ministries by Parliament and enriches the CBC,” Ramesh said. The order is a “further subversion of Parliament’s Constitutional obligations,” he said, adding that it undermined the expertise of specific ministries as well as the sanctity of the budget voted by the Parliament. Former I&B minister Manish Tewari called the order “hilarious” and “illegal”.“How can @MIB_India by an executive order get spending rights on 40% of publicity budgets appropriated by Parliament under separate line items specific to each Ministry. This is totally illegal,” Tewari said in a tweet, adding that the funds will be abused in an election year. This is hilarious. How can @MIB_India by an executive order get spending rights on 40% of publicity budgets appropriated by Parliament under separate line items specific to each Ministry. This is totally illegal.It obvious that government publicity funds would be abused for… https://t.co/qfDGn8vEJz— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) July 13, 2023Congress’ national spokesperson Pawan Khera referred to the order as “For promotion, by promotion, government of promotion.”According to an official in the finance ministry’s economic affairs department, the order is being “misinterpreted”.The official who did not wish to be named told The Wire that the office memorandum (OM) itself is self-explanatory and is being misrepresented.The official added that the OM clearly mentions that budgetary allocations for advertising and publicity will be used to publicise the activities, policies and work of that particular ministry itself, as the order mentions.The Wire has also written to the Press Information Bureau, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for a statement on the order.
